Obama White House Wishlist: 'Office of Social Entrepreneurship'

The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported yesterday that influential progressive think tanks New Democracy Fund and the Center for American Progress are advocating for the creation of a White House Office for Social Entrepreneurship.

While Obama had advocated for a Social Entrepreneurship Agency on the campaign trail, his stated proposal would have it in the Corporation for National and Community Service. A White House placement could signal that nonprofits and social enterprises will have a more important role partnering to enact change than in the past.

The proposals also articulate several ideas for promoting social entrepreneurship and nonprofit action, including creating funding programs that reward innovation, tax incentives for partnerships between nonprofits and businesses, new development aid that better mirrors the private sector investment model of the Acumen Fund.

All of these things would be incredible, and are high on my White House wishlist, but when it comes to government, the emphasis has to be on building a sustainable infrastructure for social innovation. In my mind, this means:

Updated tax code. Nonprofit tax code needs to be made simpler and more concise. We need to revisit the question of nonprofit lobbying (I'm not sure where I stand, but the discussion needs to happen). We need to explore ideas like those advocated above that reward corporate-nonprofit partnerships. Perhaps most of all, we need a tax structure that accommodates social enterprises and social businesses. L3C-type efforts need to become a national conversation.

Financial support for early stage markets and innovations. I love the idea behind the innovation competitions that folks are proposing, and think the emphasis should be supporting research and development and experimentation in arenas where there's simply too little for-profit capital available to spark innovation. At the same time, it would be important to maximize the comparative advantage of the government's more "patient capital" (i.e. less pressure for immediate profit maximization) and minimize  unnecessary interference in more developed markets.

Support for quality standards for sustainability. As more companies tout their "green," "sustainable," and "socially-responsible," a new generation of independent certifiers and watchdogs are emerging to minimize "green-washing" and make sure companies are living up to their promises. I'm not sure what the proper role for the government in these efforts is - perhaps its nothing more than convening the various actors to try to create cross-sector momentum for standards - but I believe it has a role to play.

Unleashing the power of a new generation of change agents. The Millennial Generation so excited about Obama's presidency are incredibly progressive in their approach to social change. As I've argued before, their focus is on impact, and tend to believe that government, businesses, and the nonprofit sector all have important roles to play in tackling society's most pressing issues. Not only should the Obama administration enact a national service plan, the opportunites and training the program provides should full incorporate social enterprise, social business in order to help the generation fully understand the options they have to create change over the course of their lifetimes.

What's on your wishlist?