The idea of sharing
Today I was talking to a very influential community host.
I have always wondered about the ability a non profit might have in functioning without any hindrance.
Hindrance from things like funding, and laws.
I have always wanted to be someone who draws up a list of people who need shelter, and just go build it for them.
More of, “Do you want a house?” “Yes!” “Tell me where do you want it, and I will build it for free.” I understand that this must be an architect’s fantasy.
Maybe, I am dreaming.
But after having zigzagged over commercial, residential, and pro bono projects, I have come to believe that there is peace in it.
I must have been sleepwalking when I did not see the obvious merits of the Corporate Social Responsibility law that they passed back in April 2014. It allows anyone to seek funding from those who are now legally bound to share 2% of their profits towards social causes.
I could have opened shop as a not-for-profit organisation, and got done to work.
Instead my focus had been on doing so without any external funding.
Walking either path is equally hard.
The not-for-profit one, more so.
I have always spent a considerable amount of my day reading up on the for-profit section of our economies.
Since 2006, that’s almost 40% of my life on the planet.
So now a transition has to be decided upon, and a transition I have no idea about.
I am stumbling upon certain articles that talk more about the who than the how or why.
Information on social enterprise seems to be guarded.
I wonder why.
The idea of sharing, and the idea of sharing ownership are entirely different concepts.
The former a pain, the latter, a relief.
How hard can be getting funding from CSR be? My friends say that it is either begging on a corporate doorstep, or building a brand on Instagram the idea of being interesting enough for people to invest in your endeavours.
Maybe social norms prefer what exists but personally, I prefer CSR funding without having to ask for it, just because there is a law that states it will be available for my social cause.