“One tiny person can make a difference.” – Dr. Teresa Chahine, Social Entrepreneurship Program Leader at Harvard Chan School and Director at Alfanar Lebanon.
Agreed! And so can one small business prioritizing positive impact over all else. We believe in social enterprises because they contribute to solving a community challenge using the power of the marketplace. Simply put, they are a force for good… “businesses that are changing the world for the better.”
Such challenges abound, which is why Dr. Chahine’s new book Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship comes at a perfect time. It educates us about how social businesses are today’s solution for a brighter tomorrow. “For the past 10+ years I have mentored undergraduate students in helping for-profits and non-profits conceive, develop, and implement social enterprise… and have yet to find such a comprehensive and applied resource,” comments Professor John Gonas.
We’re honored to be profiled in Dr. Chahine’s book on social entrepreneurship, and thought we’d share a bit more about how we relate to this growing movement. Of course, we can’t help but first invite you to give a gift to someone you love… one that brightens lives and helps change the world for the better. That’s why we do what we do!
Catalyst for Change
“Want to change the world? Invest in women.” Those where the first words spoken by our co-founder Ted Barber when recently interviewed by bizwomen.
Prosperity Candle is a social enterprise that believes in contributing to the common good, striving every day to help end poverty through beautiful design, joyous fragrances made with essential oils and artisan stories that brighten hearts and souls.
Alongside is Prosperity Catalyst , our sister nonprofit that launches and incubates women-led businesses in distressed regions, like Iraq, where creating opportunities for women to achieve economic empowerment is an essential catalyst for social and economic change.
Every candle purchased supports the mission of both organizations.
Social Return on Investment (SROI)
Social enterprises measure the number of lives impacted through their product or service, focusing on triple-bottom-line practices that lead to economic, social and environmental success. So the return on investment is not just financial, it’s also tangibly making the world a better place. How great is that?
We’re proud that Prosperity Candle has been named a “Best for the World” B-Corp for its positive impact on artisans, communities and the environment. It’s part of who we are, every day, right from the start. And we endeavor to share that message through our newsletter, blog and social media – as well as in the gift box cards included with every candle that tell the story of the woman who made your candle.
Beyond Charity
We deeply believe in philanthropy, and support its ability to catalyze change. Which is why we launched a social enterprise and nonprofit together with aligned missions. But we also know from experience that to create lasting change, charity and governments alone are not enough. It’s the marketplace – consumers, businesses and investors – that has the ability to create sustainable impact.
Here at Prosperity Candle, we created a unique business model that engages all of the above, most importantly people like you. It is based on soy blend candles that can be made even in the most difficult of environments and sold locally, regionally and globally.
We train disadvantaged women to start their own, independent candle-making enterprises, with Prosperity Candle as a partner. Why? Because our mission is to create opportunities for women to build a brighter future for themselves and their families through entrepreneurship, while brightening the homes of your friends and family with beautiful candlelight and meaningful gifts.
Thank you for the incredible support you’ve given our social enterprise over the past 6 years… we’re still a small team of passionate people thinking about how we can make a difference, one woman artisan at a time.
