A white paper by Echoing Green and Enclude examines the capital needs of social entrepreneurs at various stages of their organizations’ life cycle. The paper, which was supported by MacArthur, finds that misaligned market expectations regarding return and impact may make it difficult for entrepreneurs to raise capital, as can challenges related to the geographic scope of work. Researchers also noted that grants remain an important funding source across the seed, early, growth, and scale stages, though they were a smaller percentage of overall funding for more mature organizations. The findings underscore the importance of strategic support for social enterprises and a stronger market infrastructure that educates and connects motivated investors to high-impact organizations.
