In the meeting Scott shared with the the Millennium Development Goals that were established by 187 nations during the United Nations Convention of 2000.  The goals are as follows:

• Eradicate extreme poverty & hunger
• Achieve universal primary education
• Promote gender equality & empower women
• Reduce child mortality
• Improve maternal health
• Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria & other diseases
• Ensure environmental sustainability
• Develop a global partnership for development

Even though these goals have been in existence for about 9 years, I have never heard of them.  However, I am passionate about these goals and hope to do my little part to achieve them with social media.

Social enterprises are generally responsible to produce targets financially, socially, and often environmentally. Often, a portion of the profits from the social enterprise are used to support charity aims. For example, with Adoption.com, the foster child photolisting, reunion registry and online support group are almost completely free community services. We generate revenue primarily through advertising sponsorships, which then allows these services to be offered for free to help children and families. Since Adoption.com is a for-profit website, it is actually categorized as “social entrepreneurship”, which is a subset of social enterprise.

The Social Enterprise Alliance defines social enterprise as: “An organization or venture that advances its social mission through entrepreneurial earned income strategies.”

Sometimes people criticize social enterprises, such as Adoption.com, saying that they profit off of a charitable cause. The other side to that argument, however, is that social enterprises find a way to generate revenue so they are able to make a difference socially that would probably not be able to happen otherwise. For example, we have always felt it is better to put adoption agency advertising sponsorships on adoption photolistings so that state agencies and adoptive parents can use these services free of charge, and we can help as many children as possible find families.

The REDF Foundation pioneered Social Return on Investment Analysis through its’ funding of social enterprises. Working Assets created a social enterprise model that generates donations to organizations when customers use services such as long distance and credit cards. Through this program, Working Assets has raised more than $50 million for non-profit organizations such as Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders.

The Social Enterprise Reporter publishes social enterprise news. The Business as Mission Network provides news, resources and tools to turn a business into a great ministry.

Several MBA programs have added social enterprise programs, such as the Harvard Business School Social Enterprise Initiative . Some day I would like to develop a Social Enterprise program at the BYU Marriott School, and help train the next generation of social entrepreneurs and non-profit leaders.

Richard Miller recently sent me a link to an interview about social enterprise with Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay. Click here for the interview. Pierre says eBay was a social success because it increased trust globally. Pierre feels that any non-profit organization with the same funding would not have been able to affect as much good (worldwide increase in “trust”) as the peer-to-peer eBay model. He is now interested in investing in for-profit companies that “only do social good if they are successful and are only successful if they do social good.”

It is a tremendously rewarding blessing to be able to work in the social enterprise field, and be able to make a difference and a living at the same time.

With the sale of Families.com earlier this year, and with Dave Larson joining the Adoption Media team as Chief Operations Officer, I was in a position for the first time in 10 years that I could go back to school and finish my degree.

I had 23 credits left to finish. So, in May I moved up to Utah and have been attending the first of two summer semesters at BYU. In about 10 days, I will only have 15 credits left. Then, I will take another 9 credits in the second summer semester.

It has been very hard to live away from my wife and daughters and I miss them more than you imagine. I am awed by the sacrifice my wife is making for me to be able to do this, and am incredibly grateful for how supportive she has been throughout our marriage.

The question I have been asked most frequently is “Why?” Why would I go back to school after 10 years? The most common answer that I give is that I am ready to take my career and my companies to the next level. I believe that corporate culture is a reflection of top management. When organizations have consistently poor customer service or salesmen regularly lie to their customers, these organizations often have top management who lack ethical leadership, and that void in character trickles its’ way down throughout the company. I believe that if I can elevate my performance, I can raise the performance throughout my companies and the new companies I hope to create.

Recently a reporter from the Provo Daily Herald wrote a story about the value of a college education. This reporter interviewed Steve Gibson, one of the professors in the BYU business school. I am volunteering this summer as an “Entrepreneur in Residence” for Steve’s “Entrepreneurship Skills for Non-Business Majors” course. I have been thoroughly enjoying mentoring student groups as they have gone through the process of creating and running their own companies. So, Steve referred the reporter to me. I will include the story she published below to help answer this question about the value of a college education:

What a college education is really worth
BRITTANI LUSK – Daily Herald
Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Just 23 credits short of a bachelor’s degree, CEO Nathan Gwilliam left BYU because his Internet company was growing so fast he didn’t have time to do both. Gwilliam wrote a business plan for a company called Adoption.com while at BYU. That was 10 years ago. Now the business, called Adoption Media, is the largest adoption organization in the world.College is expensive, and if Gwilliam didn’t need it to start his company, is a bachelor’s degree even worth the cost?The answer, experts say, is yes — and even Gwilliam would agree.

A college education in Utah County can cost more than $3,000 a year — $4,500 or so after books and fees.

Students often pay for those costs for a long time. The average college student in 2000 graduated with $16,928 in student loan debt, according to the U.S. Public Research Interest Group.

Even with all that, education still pays, said John Mathews, an economist for the Utah Department of Workforce Services.

” ‘The more you learn, the more you earn’ is still very true,” Mathews said.

On average, college graduates make almost double the income of those who only have a high school diploma. The average high school graduate made $21,079 in 2006, according to census figures, while those with bachelor’s degrees averaged $40,166.

Certain professions are harder to get into for those without higher education. For example, the Census Bureau reported in 2006 that 46 percent of adults with managerial jobs had bachelor’s degrees and 71 percent of those in professional occupations had at least a bachelor’s degree. Only 8 percent of those in craft, service, farm or production occupations had that much education.

Those salaries can become a reality for today’s graduates because jobs are plentiful.

Mathews said graduates are entering a good job market.

“Utah’s labor market is on fire,” he said.

The unemployment rate in Utah is about 2 percent. The national rate is around 4 percent. Rates that low are good for those seeking jobs because employers are competing for graduates, Mathews said. Education is an added bonus.

Graduating Utah Valley State College students filled out a survey when they left. Of the 35 percent filling out the survey last year, 69 percent reported that they were employed.

UVSC spokeswoman Megan Laurie said those numbers don’t include students who became employed shortly after graduation or were sending out resumés when the survey was taken.

Education is worth more than just a fatter paycheck. The Utah System of Higher Education reported that education leads to a better quality of life.

USHE spokeswoman Amanda Covington said that higher levels of education correspond with more civic involvement, more volunteering and more voter participation.

College graduates are more than twice as likely to have health insurance and pension benefits, according to the College Board’s Education Pays 2005 report. The College Board also reported that unemployment rates are lower for those with more education.

There’s more to earning money than simply getting an education, however.

Jay Irvine, placement coordinator for BYU’s Marriott School of Management, said there are many skills that lead to success, including education.

“A good college education is going to prepare you as well as anything,” he said.

After that he listed common sense, resourcefulness, luck, hard work, creativity and management skills.

Stephen Gibson, faculty member of the Marriot School of Management, listed what he described as a “locus of control” — that is, good entrepreneurs believe they are in charge.

“They believe that they control their own destiny,” Gibson said.

Successful people also delay gratification, Gibson said. When the business does well, they put the money back into the business rather than spending it. They also have good people skills and embrace change.

Gwilliam, the CEO who left BYU, said there were many things he never learned at school, including being able to learn from his failures.

“The people who are most successful aren’t people who haven’t failed,” Gwilliam said. “They can learn from their mistakes.”

Gwilliam owns several companies. In 1999, after he had taken his company Today.com public, he lost it. He was 24 years old at the time.

“I lost over $11 million in one day,” he said. “That was a really bad day.”

But he’s also had successes and says still needs an education to build his credibility and make an impact. He is back in Provo for the summer to finish his bachelor’s degree in general studies with an emphasis in business management. After he graduates, he plans to apply to the Harvard Business School.

“I want to do something on a much higher level. To do that, I need to get my MBA,” Gwilliam said.

Brittani Lusk can be reached at 344-2549 or at blusk@heraldextra.com.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.