Municipal Involvement In Social Enterprise: The Seattle Experience

Abstract

Seattle, Washington sets a standard for investment in entrepreneurial solutions in the non-profit sector. They have dedicated money and staff for non-profit capacity building because they believe there will be a return on investment through better services and stronger, more stable organizations. A variety of strategies that network non-profits and social venture capital are introduced. All in all, Seattle is an excellent example of a pro-active approach to social enterprise and community capacity building facilitated by smart policy and targeted investment; quite a contrast with the cases reported in Guenter (1995) & Knobbloch (1995).