Inner City Renovation: How Social Enterprise Changes Lives and Communities

Abstract

Inner City Renovation: How a Social Enterprise Changes Lives and Communities. By Marty Don kervoort. Halifax, NS: Fernwood Publishing, 2013. 137 pp. ISBN 9781552665817.Inner City Renovation: How a Social Enterprise Changes Lives and Communities by Marty Don kervoort is a valuable addition to the literature on social enterprise and the social economy. In it, Don kervoort presents the case of Inner City Renovation (ICR), a construction and renovation social enterprise founded to strengthen low-income, inner city neighbourhoods in Winnipeg by providing "quality" jobs with the opportunity for skill development and employees ownership to marginalized inner city individuals. As co-founder, board member, and general manager, Don kervoort provides a rare and invaluable insider's view of a social enterprise, guiding the reader through ICR from its initial inception in 2001 to his retirement in 2010. Don kervoort documents how he utilized his business acumen and social values to confront the opportunities and challenges facing ICR to improve the livelihood of its employees and community. A postscript provides an update of ICR as of 2013.Don kervoort approaches the topic with a thoughtfulness he developed over a lifetime of considering the impacts that business decisions can have on an organization's employees and the community it serves. He offers advice that is both thoughtful and business savvy-sometimes idealistic but predominantly pragmatic. And here lays the strength of his book and its key contribution to the literature: the wealth of experience gained and lessons learned in building a thriving and sustainable social enterprise.Don kervoort carefully documents the opportunities available to social enterprises in manifesting their missions while outlining the associated challenges they face as they compete against other organizations, often for-profit ones. One of the fundamental concerns for social enterprises is the balancing of their social missions with their financial objectives. Donkervoort's approach to this issue resonates throughout the book as he continually places the focus on the long-term sustainability of the social enterprise. He stresses the importance of engaging a board of directors and a general manager who are all committed to social values and the mission of the enterprise in order to defend against mission creep. However, this advice is offered with the caveat that the financial health of the organization is of great importance in ensuring the long-term viability of the organization and its mission. ICR is evidence that financial success in a social enterprise is not just a pipe dream as ICR, which was highly reliant on grants in its first few years of operation, achieved 95% of its revenue from providing construction and renovation services by 2010 and 98% by 2012, reflecting a decrease in its grant revenue.The list below provides a clearer example of topics covered in the book:* The evolution of a social enterprise's business plan: when to deviate from it and when to stay the course.* How best to approach a marketing plan when hiring a marginalized work force, some with a history of incarceration or gang activity. …