Ryan Little is a seasoned social and environmental entrepreneur, Project Manager at the BMW Foundation, and co-founder of the Canadian charitable giving platform, CanadaHelps, the country’s national resource for online giving, capacity building, and social media best practices. The organization has facilitated over $600 million in donations since its establishment in 2000. At the BMW Foundation, Little heads the venture philanthropy and social entrepreneurship initiatives, does extensive across-organization advising, and coordinates for social startups at the German Startups Association.
In this video, Ryan offers valuable tips on pitching to investors and fundraising for your social business. He emphasizes that it is essential to have a clear and succinct story that focuses on your unique solution to a problem and lays out why you are the right person for the job.
These videos are presented in collaboration with the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG).
2. Top Tips for Social Entrepreneurs
Building a strong and engaged board of advisors is key to ensuring a social enterprise's success, says Little. In this video, he talks about the important strategic role qualified advisors can play in asking the hard questions about focus, fundraising and execution that gives social entrepreneurs a macro-level perspective and helps them keep an eye of their ultimate goals. Ever heard of the "grandmother test"? Learn all about it in this video.
3. What Are the Key Trends in Social Entrepreneurship?
Social entrepreneurship is becoming more like mainstream entrepreneurship, and that's a good thing, Ryan insists. Over the next five to ten years, we can expect a shift in the way social enterprises are funded. Watch the video to get Ryan's complete trend forecast.
For more advice from Ryan, checking out his Pitching & Fundraising Guide.
For more videos and advice on entrepreneurship, visit the HIIG YouTube channel.
Originally published June 17, 2015
