QuikPolls are just what you think they are--a brief survey of the social enterprise community! Every month a QuikPoll is included in our newsletter, The Enterprising Voice. Anyone who receives the newsletter has the opportunity to participate. Each QuikPoll is open for approximately 25 days and then results are published in the next newsletter. Please note that survey results are not tested for statistical validity; they are intended as field indicators only.

To aid in viewing this long list of past questions, we have broken them out into the following broad categories:  Starting a Social Enterprise, Running a Social Enterprise, Nonprofit vs. For-profit, The Human Factor, Learning and Networking, and The Field.

• Is the governing board of your organization more, or less, open to earned income ventures than they were a year ago?  (3.14.07)  results

• Did you seek legal counsel before undertaking a social venture in order to protect your tax-exempt 501(c)3 status?  (5.3.06)  results

• Other things being equal, would you rather invest in a proven franchise aligned with your mission or start a social enterprise from scratch? [From a QuikPoll Reader]  (10.5.05)  results

• Which of the following consultant services would be most useful to organizations in the early stages of exploring earned income ventures?  (6.29.05)  results

• What is (was) your Board’s primary concern about undertaking social enterprise activities?  (6.1.05)  results

• Are you likely to seek outside funding for your next social enterprise?  (5.4.05)  results

• Is a business plan really necessary for a successful earned income venture?  (4.6.05)  results

• Does your board of directors endorse, resist or ignore your social enterprise activities and plans?  (3.9.05)  results

• Have you ever used a paid outside consultant in the development of an earned income venture?  (2.9.05)  results

• Did you have a lawyer's assistance in setting up your social enterprise?  (11.17.04)  results

• Did you conduct market research before starting your earned income venture?  (11.03.04)  results

• Have you borrowed money to start an earned income venture?  (10.20.04)  results

• Do government set-aside programs really work in terms of creating viable earned income opportunities for nonprofits?  (9.22.04)  results

• How much capital did you invest in your first earned income venture? (8.11.04)  results

• Did you undertake a full (minimum 6 month) feasibility study before embarking on your earned income venture? (6.16.04)  results

• How did you fund your first earned income activity -- with internal funds or with an outside grant or loan?  (2.11.04) results

• Have concerns about protecting the tax-exempt status of your nonprofit been a barrier to pursuing earned income ventures? (1.14.04) results

• What was your nonprofit’s first earned income activity? (10.8.03) results

• What strategies have you found effective in dealing with resistance to earned income activities within your organization? (9.24.03) results

• Survey respondents remain optimistic about earned income growth, but what’s the reality? Did your earned revenue grow in 2006?  (1.17.07)  results

• Given your current organizational needs and opportunities, do you expect to expand, reduce, or maintain your current level of social enterprise activity in 2007?  (12.6.06)  results

• Do you market your earned income products or services through traditional media channels or primarily by word of mouth?  (11.22.06)  results

• Has an unexpected issue ever threatened the basic survival of one (or more) of your earned income ventures?  (11.8.06)  results

• Have you attempted to calculate the Social Return on Investment (SROI) of your social enterprise?  (5.17.06)  results

• What are the top indicators of the potential success of an earned income venture?  (2.22.06)  results

• Do you expect to expand, reduce, or maintain your current level of social enterprise activity in 2006?  (12.14.05)  results

• Do social enterprise ventures have a beneficial or harmful effect on organizational infrastructure, e.g. accounting, human resources, etc.?  (10.19.05)  results

• How important is information technology within your social enterprise?  (8.24.05)  results

• In general, have your social enterprise activities been a benefit or a burden to your organization’s infrastructure, e.g. finance, facilities, HR, etc?  (12.01.04)  results

• If forced to choose between all factors critical to the success of a social enterprise, what SINGLE element is most important in your opinion?  (10.06.04)  results

• How many distinct social enterprises or earned income activities does your nonprofit have underway at this time?  (9.8.04)  results

• How long did it take for your first social enterprise to show a profit? (7.14.04)  results

• To help ensure sales and social outcomes, is it better for a social enterprise to price its products/services just to cover costs or to seek the highest price the market will bear even at the risk of "no sale"? (6.2.04)  results

• Have you ever closed down one of your social enterprise ventures? (5.19.04)  results

• Must a social enterprise generate a profit or is breakeven financial performance sufficient? (4.21.04)  results

• Do you expect to expand, reduce, or maintain your current level of social enterprise activity in 2004? (1.28.04) results

• The holiday season is approaching. Does your organization generate income through the sale of a seasonal product or service? (11.19.03) results

• Have you found local chambers of commerce or other traditional business groups a helpful channel to advance social enterprise?  (6.6.07)  results

• Is it appropriate for a successful social enterprise to conduct traditional fundraisers, e.g. auctions, raffles, etc. and compete with more vulnerable nonprofits for limited charitable dollars?  (2.28.07)  results

• Has the success or visibility of your earned income activities ever cost you support from the philanthropic or government sectors?  (9.13.06)  results

• Though they serve a social purpose, earned income ventures blur the line between nonprofits and for-profits. Is this good or bad for nonprofits in the long run?  (8.30.06)  results

• Has your social enterprise ever been accused of “unfair competition” by a for-profit firm selling similar products or services?  (6.28.06)  results

• The Sarbanes-Oxley Act applied tougher financial disclosure and governance rules to for-profit corporations.  Would the application of similar regulations on the nonprofit sector have a positive, negative or neutral impact upon social enterprises?  (1.25.06)  results

• Has your organization ever structured an earned income venture as a for-profit (versus nonprofit) corporation?  (9.7.05)  results

• Is your local business community receptive to social enterprise?  (5.18.05)  results

• Does competition from for-profit firms play a major role in the success of your earned income venture? (5.5.04)  results

• Has “mission creep” (the tendency to focus more on business than social mission) ever been a problem in your earned income venture? (3.10.04)  results

• Have you ever found it necessary to exceed your normal "program" pay structure to attract a qualified leader for an earned income venture?  (9.5.07)  results

• Do you have a formal leadership succession plan in place to ensure continued support for social enterprise?  (2.14.07)  results

• When hiring a manager for a social enterprise, IN GENERAL do you think it's better to promote from within or recruit from the business community? [A repeat question from 2003 to assess if hiring preferences have changed.]  (9.27.06)  results (10.22.03) results

• Will there be job opportunities in your social enterprise for a new college grad this year?  (5.31.06)  results

• Does your social enterprise offer performance-based compensation to its manager, sales rep or other employees?  (4.19.06)  results

• Have you successfully used university interns to develop or support an earned income activity?  (3.22.06)  results

• In your opinion, are successful social enterprisers “born” or “made”?  (1.12.06)  results

• Over time, is it becoming easier to recruit managers with business experience to oversee your social enterprise(s)?  (11.16.05)  results

• Which of the following approaches are most likely to produce a receptive corporate culture for social enterprise?  (11.2.05)  results

• Other than board members or outside advisors, do volunteers play a role in your earned income activities?  (9.21.05)  results

• Do you pay your social enterprise manager at a higher rate than an equivalent program manager within your organization?  (2.23.05)  results

• Do you have an outside business advisory board or committee for your earned income ventures? (3.24.04)  results

• As an enterprising nonprofit, which of the following professional journals do you read? [A repeat question from 2005 to assess if preferences have changed.]  (8.1.07)  results    (1.26.05)  results

• A growing number of universities offer nonprofit management courses. Have you or a member of your leadership team taken such courses?  (10.25.06)  results

• Would you participate in an online education/training course to help you start up or grow your social enterprise?  (8.9.06)  results

• Are there tangible benefits to associating with other social entrepreneurs?  (6.14.06)  results

• If you could ask one question of the most experienced and successful social enterprisers, what would it be?  (4.5.06)  results

• How helpful are social enterprise training conferences in starting or growing earned income ventures?  (2.9.06)  results

• What book or author has been most influential in your development or management of an earned income venture?  (12.1.05)  results

• Does an educational institution in your community offer courses in social enterprise or social entrepreneurship?  (7.6.05)  results

• Would access to a local network of social enterprise practitioners be of any value to your own business development?  (3.23.05)  results

• Has the publication of a recent study critical of social enterprise adversely impacted either internal or external support for your own earned income plans?  (7.11.07)  results

• If you described your organization as a “social enterprise”, would your local newspaper reporter know what you were talking about?  (5.9.07)  results

• What are the primary reasons some nonprofits reject social enterprise?  (3.28.07)  results

• Do you think the shifting balance of power in Congress will have a positive or a negative impact upon the field of social enterprise?  (1.31.07)  results

• Have high profile failures in nonprofit management in recent years impacted support for your own organization or its earned income activities?  (1.3.07)  results

• Do you think a new, hybrid corporate form – distinct from existing for-profit and nonprofit structures – would contribute to the growth of the social enterprise sector?  (10.11.06)  results

• Is it hypocritical for a nonprofit to endorse earned income activities and engage in traditional fundraising at the same time?  (7.26.06)  results

• Is social enterprise worthwhile for the average nonprofit if the net result is just a parallel reduction in charitable or government support?  (7.12.06)  results

• Should social enterprises be accredited by an outside authority?  (7.27.05)  results

• Based on your experience, are grantmakers becoming more aware of or interested in supporting earned income ventures?  (6.15.05)  results

• Do you find the bi-weekly QuikPoll to be a useful source of information about the social enterprise field?  (1.12.05)  results

• Yes or no, do nonprofits typically have the capacity - human and financial - to adequately research, plan, implement, and operate a social enterprise? (7.28.04)  results

• What critical question(s) should be addressed in a poll of those active or interested in the social enterprise movement? (6.30.04)  results

• In your opinion, are grantmakers becoming more aware of and interested in supporting earned income ventures?  (4.7.04)  results

• Should government remain "hands-off" or play a stronger role in terms of supporting social enterprise development?  (2.25.04) results

• What is the single most significant challenge to social enterprise development today? (11.05.03) results