Social enterprises are revenue-generating businesses with a twist. Whether operated by a non-profit organization or by a for-profit company, a social enterprise has two goals: to achieve social, cultural, community economic or environmental outcomes and to earn revenue. On the surface, many social enterprises look, feel, and operate like traditional businesses. But when you look more deeply, you can see that their mission is at the center of everything they do.
In the last five years, social enterprises have grown by 55%. Today, they are almost a fad and can be tracked by the popular #socent hashtag. Business, as well as people’s concept of charity, is transforming before our eyes. The melding of these two worlds continues to increase as companies and non-profits alike search for long-term, sustainable solutions to global problems using market solutions. While this is a great thing on the surface, it forces non-profit social enterprises, like Anchal Project, to differentiate themselves from great marketing campaigns and sound strategies and continue to focus on creating true impact.
Today we employ over 107 women in India through sustainable careers & have over 50 women on a waiting list, eagerly hoping to become Anchal artisans. While it is tempting to enroll them immediately, we have to carefully consider the impact that it will have on our program and make sure that we don't compromise the current artisan's opportunities or resources. Our priority has always been, and will continue to be on the quality of our program rather than the quantity of women that we can serve. It is about the individual. Our growth has been slow, but steady and impactful.
Not only are we a social enterprise, but we are a non-profit, using our revenue generating products to fuel our artisan program & and create real change. It's not about us. It's about the artisans. It's about each individual woman that takes advantage of the educational courses, takes part in design workshops and overcomes extreme adversity to produce beautiful, marketable pieces. The artisans, and their amazing personal stories of growth & perseverance are constant reminders of why we approach things the way that we do. We are a mission-driven, socially conscious company that puts people over profits. And we wouldn't have it any other way.
To read more about our vision, click here. To get involved in something that matters, click here.
-Tess