Carrboro encourages social enterprise

The Town of Carrboro is using a government grant to encourage local business leaders and entrepreneurs to grow their organizations in a socially conscious way.

The Partnership for a Sustainable Community, a nonprofit partner of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, is hosting a series of workshops this fall targeted toward people who run businesses or nonprofit organizations, or residents who want to start one.

“We want to really improve the way organizations impact their communities,” said Aaron Nelson, executive director of the Partnership and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce.

The program, called Grow in Carrboro, will be held on four consecutive Monday mornings at the Carrboro Century Center starting Oct. 6.

The workshops are free and open to residents, businesses and nonprofits that are based in or serve Carrboro.

Nelson said each session will address different topics, but all of them will follow the theme of social enterprise — a business concept through which an organization focuses on improving its community and not just making a profit.

“We’re looking for businesses that want to do good in the community or nonprofits that want to use business strategies to be more successful,” he said.

Applications are open until Oct. 1, but people interested in participating should sign up as soon as possible, said Grow in Carrboro Project Manager Blake Tedder.

Preference will be given to people who can commit to attending all four workshops.

“There will be a different agenda every week that builds on the previous week,” Tedder said.

Grow in Carrboro is being funded by a federal community development block grant for small business and entrepreneurial assistance, said Annette Stone, Carrboro’s economic and community development director.

The town applied for the grant to fund sewer infrastructure problems on Main Street.

One of the requirements of the grant was that the town spend $5,000 of it on a program to create an entrepreneurial environment.

Tedder said he hopes the workshops create a close-knit community of business and nonprofit leaders who can use their diverse experiences to help each other improve their organizations.

“We’re going to have a lot of Carrboro businesses and organizations in the same room at the same time that can possibly work together,” he said.

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