We need more LGBT+ social enterprises. This is why.
I am a queer social entrepreneur. During my career I have led LGBT+ NGOs and also founded a charity, the Micro Rainbow International Foundation. However, my main focus over the last 12 years has been in founding and growing a successful social enterprise, Micro Rainbow, which has a unique LGBT+ mission.
In this article I explore why I believe we need more LGBT+ social enterprises. These are based on my lived experience as an LGBT+ activist of almost 20 years and as an LGBTQI social entrepreneur. Such social enterprises could transform our movement and act as a catalyst to:
1. Allow us to respond faster and more effectively to our challenges;
2. Create more resilient LGBT+ driven organisations; and
3. Increase solidarity.
We live in unprecedented times. The VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) world we live in is not only impacting businesses and industries but also human rights movements, such as the LGBT+ one. As a result, several of our human rights are vulnerable to being eroded. That includes LGBT+ rights.
While LGBTQI rights are improving in some countries, the way LGBT+ equality is viewed seems to be increasingly polarised in many others. For example, in the UK we are witnessing an increase in hate crimes and unprecedented levels of transphobia. Internationally, we see countries like Ghana and Uganda introducing harsher laws to criminalise LGBT+ people. Several states in the USA are trying hard to erode trans rights. It feels like hate and fear against LGBTQI people are on the rise across the globe.
I believe social enterprises can play a crucial role in responding to the rise of LGBTQIphobia, but we need to step up our game. A more sustainable business model such as a social enterprise has the potential to transform our movement. Such organisations can achieve the following impact:
1. We will respond faster and more effectively to the challenges facing LGBT+ people.
In my opinion, the current structure of the organisations that dominate the LGBTQI movement may not be fit to respond to the increased hate we are experiencing. Most LGBT+ organisations worldwide follow the NGO/charity model which can limit growth for three main reasons:
- Boards of trustees can be very risk adverse. There is little growth without risk, and it can take a long time to affect change. We do not have the luxury of time.
- They often lack the entrepreneurial talent which I believe is essential to take our movement to the next level in the fight against hate;
- They are grant dependant and therefore vulnerable to the agendas of governments, philanthropists and trusts.
Don’t get me wrong, there is a place for the charity/NGO model (as mentioned above, I founded a charity), especially in environments where democracies are fragile or non-existent and where it is simply too dangerous to promote human rights.
However, I also believe there are many countries where LGBT+ organisations could and should start exploring more sustainable models for social change. We need organisational structures that allow for greater agility and more rapid scaling so they can make a significant impact to the cause. We want social enterprises to be able to grow in the same way for-profit businesses do.
This desire to create new models for social change has been the driving force behind Micro Rainbow. In 2018 we decided to tackle homelessness and abuse of LGBT+ asylum seekers in housing in the UK. We piloted the programme with a two-bedroom flat. Six years later, we have a capacity of 30,000 bed-nights a year and we have accessed £4million of social investment to make it happen. We are now in the process of raising a second round of social investment to eradicate homelessness of LGBT+ asylum seekers in the UK by 2030. I believe we have been able to achieve this largely as a result of our social enterprise structure and culture. Our model can be replicated, and we hope to inspire more LGBT+ and third sector organisations to follow it. However, to date we remain the only LGBT+ social enterprise in the top 100 social enterprises in the UK.
2. We will become more resilient to face today’s VUCA world.
Most LGBT+ organisations rely on grants and donations only. This means they are vulnerable to external factors: donors, funders, the constant need to fundraise. If there is a shock, we struggle to recover, and many LGBT+ groups then need to close down. I have seen this happening in Europe as well as in Africa. The tragedy behind this pattern is that a lot of LGBT+ activism is also lost. Our advocacy and lobbying efforts are therefore not consistent over time, and we end up with a fragmented movement. Against the rise of LGBT-phobia, we cannot afford this. I believe social enterprises can help make the movement more resilient. A percentage (if not all) of social enterprises’ budgets come from commercial income which should ensure some continuity. In the case of Micro Rainbow, 60% of our budget is now independent from government, trusts or individual donor funding. When we started 12 years ago, 100% of our income came from grants and donations. This means that in a time of crisis we might have to shrink momentarily, but our work for LGBT+ equality is unlikely to stop completely.
3. We will experience greater solidarity as we free up resources to face the challenges of the movement.
Funding for LGBT+ rights is very small compared to other causes. When LGBT+ social enterprises generate their own commercial revenue, they require less financial support from funders, governments, or donors. This shift allows for the reallocation of funds towards other organisations that may not have the means to be financially self-sustaining, such as LGBT+ organisations in Uganda. Having more LGBT+ social enterprises means having more money for the movement.
Conclusion
Social enterprises are not the full solution to LGBT+ inequality worldwide and they are not without their limitations. There is still an important place for philanthropists and their trusts, for government funding, and for corporate foundations. These players are even more critical in countries where LGBT+ identities are criminalised.
However, I believe social enterprises are part of the solution to the increased hate towards LGBT+ people.
In times when:
· some governments are cutting aid,
· when corporations choose to protect their bottom line when faced with the dilemma of supporting trans rights, and
· when philanthropic support for LGBT+ causes is relatively small compared to funding for other causes.
I believe social enterprises are one of the missing pieces of the puzzle. They are a new entry point not only for bringing additional resources to the LGBT+ movement but also to scale our efforts and meet our (very well resourced) opposition at their level. As a result, we will also have the means to face the raise of hate and anti-LGBT+ legislation worldwide.
I also believe that social enterprises have the potential to bring more than just money to the movement. They bring a new economic infrastructure that is resilient. An infrastructure that can respond more powerfully to the backlashes we face and will face in the law, in the communities and within our families.
To know more about me, you can check my profile on Medium or connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter.
