Nonprofit organizations readily embrace the value of financial accounting. They understand the need to keep careful financial records, have them audited independently and send copies to their investors. Because these financial statements are prepared and audited according to accepted standards, they are in turn accepted as an accurate reflection of an organization’s finances – and can indicate opportunities for improvement. The question that non-profit organizations should be asking themselves is: “Do we account for our social impact?”

In this article from February 2008, Dr Roger Stewart and I examine why organizations need to start accounting for their social impact. We introduce the concept of social accounting and its value to non-profit organizations. We also examine the different steps in the social-accounting procedure.

This is the era of social enterprises – organizations that think of themselves as businesses with a social purpose. Social enterprises are happy to make a profit and do so with a smile on their face and conscience in hand. They also tread in the traditional turf of both businesses and non-profit organizations. They see themselves as organizations from a new paradigm, and the organizations of the future.

This article from November 2007 advocates for social enterprise and discusses eight reasons why we will be seeing more of them in the future.

It is time for traditional non-profit organizations to wake up and rethink their paradigm. Those that don’t are likely to become either obsolete or irrelevant. Those non-profit organizations that are able to adapt accordingly are likely to remain or become successful.

This article from November 2007 discusses seven main reasons why non-profit organizations need to put some time aside to rethink their paradigm. I believe that it is time for the traditional mind-set of the non-profit organization to expire.

Company support for community-based organisations (CBOs) has yielded mixed results and is a hotly debated development approach. I believe that CBOs play a crucial role on the development landscape and point to several strategies that will help ensure an appropriate social return on the investment.

This article was published in the Corporate Social Investment Handbook (2006) by Trialogue Publications.