We’re a “social enterprise.” What does that really mean?
The ReStore in Forest Grove, Oregon is a social enterprise that works to fund and otherwise support West Tuality Habitat for Humanity in its work to promote affordable housing, undertake critical home repairs and promote housing equity in Western Washington County, including Forest Grove, Cornelius, Gales Creek, Gaston, Banks, Timber, and North Plains.
But what is a social enterprise?
The Annie E. Casey Foundation says that Social enterprises are revenue-generating businesses with a mission. By mission, the foundation means a mission to do good: to help a nonprofit, to help specific types of nonprofits, or to help a variety of charities and social causes. Social enterprises DO make profits and often pay competitive wages so they can get the best staff possible to deliver the best services possible - but beyond the expenses of salaries, equipment, administrative costs, training, marketing and other essential expenses, profits go to a social cause, usually in the form of financial gifts to charity.
Some of the most well known social enterprises are Newman’s Own and Ben & Jerry’s, two highly profitable companies. Newman’s Own is a food company founded by actor Paul Newman that produces a lot of delicious products and that donates its profits to charity. Ben & Jerry’s is a very famous ice cream company that has long been associated with environmental and social causes, like campaigns for fair wages.
Social enterprises also operate with an eye to ethics and social good, like working to reduce their environmental impact, supporting the continuing education of their staff, and inclusive employee recruitment programs that target those people who often face additional barriers to finding employment and upward mobility. The Habitat ReStore model reduces the need for the production of new furniture and reduces further stress on our limited supply of natural resources and fuel to transport those items. Habitat ReStores extend the value of quality, new and used furniture and household items and limits unnecessary waste, decreasing our collective carbon footprint.
As a social enterprise, the ReStore in Forest Grove works to earn as much revenue as possible for West Tuality Habitat so that we can help more working families in need of a decent place to live. We also hope to help keep our community green by encouraging people to donate and shop with us to prevent thousands of pounds of materials going to landfills every year and to reduce the need for items to be shipped from afar.
Our volunteers in the ReStore, working alongside our paid staff, are a mix of local people wanting to give back to their communities or who are curious about our work, of students wanting to explore careers and build professional skills, of people with disabilities who use volunteering to build their social skills, and people who are completing court-mandated community service. We would welcome you as a volunteer!
As a social enterprise, the ReStore also welcomes customer feedback, which we use to improve our operations and our communications.
Shout out to the ReStore of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in Canada for its excellent web page on this subject.
