CROWDFUNDING: COULD IT ENSURE THE SURVIVAL AND THE GROWTH OF A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE?

Summary: The purpose of this paper is to explore the concepts of survival and growth as they are applied to the social enterprise through crowdfunding. It examines if social enterprises can recourse to crowdfunding in order to survive and expand their activities. Social enterprises encounter funding gaps while having aspirations to grow their activities. This paper conceptualizes social entrepreneurship as a multidimensional construct involving the need of funding via social networks which play a vital role in achieving the social mission. The paper discusses the recourse of a social enterprise, our case study, to crowdfund its activity for ensuring its survival and growth. Moreover, it shows how crowdfunding let social entrepreneurs meet the dual objective, social and economical impact.

Keywords: Social Enterprise, Funding sources, Survival, Growth

Social Enterprise, Funding sources, Survival, Growth