On Saturday, I attended the Turner Family Center for Social Ventures 2020 Summit, which focused on collaboration across industries and professions to create social impact under the theme ‘Growing Together’.
At the TFC summit, I was able to learn more about social enterprises, and I was challenged to think about how Novel Hand engages and partners with individuals and organizations.
Below are my main takeaways from the summit.
It’s not about starting it, it’s about maintaining it.
Wubetu Shimelash, Simien Eco Trek
Wubetu Shimelash is the founder of Simien Eco Trek, a tour company in Ethiopia. He spoke about the challenges of starting a social enterprise– one of which is maintaining the work. As we move into our second month with Novel Hand, still very much in the start of our work, I was challenged to consider how we will maintain our content and build Novel Hand.
We can’t do everything.
Mike Lenda, The Well Coffeehouse
This is a great reminder for people working in social impact, Vanderbilt students and really everyone. No one organization can tackle every social issue or attempt to solve every problem. There’s a lot to be said for honing in on one issue or several issues in order to create real, sustainable impact. I was inspired by what Mike Lenda, CEO of The Well Coffeehouse had to say about managing and growing a social enterprise here in Nashville.
Communication is organic or deliberate.
Samar Ali, Millions of Conversations
Samar Ali is the Founding President of Millions of Conversations, a media driven campaign designed to change existing narratives that marginalize and politicize “the other.” With Millions of Conversations, Ali is creating deliberate dialogue around inclusion and national narratives. She identified five forms of communication: one-to-one, social media, print, broadcast, and radio or podcast. Considering these different forms of communication challenged me to think about how we deliberately share what we’re learning through Novel Hand.
These are just a few of the things that I learned at the TFC Summit this weekend. I was also challenged to think about multi-disciplinary problem solving, mentorship, and human-centered design, among other things.
As I mentioned in our January in Review post, I’m excited to learn more about social enterprise and market-driven efforts to alleviate poverty in the coming months. Stay tuned to learn with us!
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