SOCIAL NON-PROFIT: How to save local producers and donate premium food to people in need, with Melina Taprantzi (Wise Greece)

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Hello dear Entrepreneurs changing the world for the better,

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Episode 18 is out, and it is for all those who want to have a social impact on the world! 😄

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Are you dreaming of starting your non-profit organization, but you don't know where to start?

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Or maybe you started it, but it turns out that growing it and funding it is more complex than you thought!

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Well, this episode will have some answers you need to start and grow your non-profit organization.

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My guest is Melina Taprantzi, the founder of Wise Greece, a social entrepreneurship pioneer and non-profit organization.

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Melina recently won an award from the United Nations, which recognizes her as one of the seven women worldwide, whose activity significantly contributes to the achievement of the global sustainable development goals 2030.

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Wise Greece has a double mission: they support small Greek food producers by promoting top quality Greek products through the sales of which they raise money and buy food in order to donate it to the people in need.

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They cooperate with more than a hundred producers selling more than 2500 of their products. And they have distributed more than 50 tons of food to orphanages and soup kitchens across the country.

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Melina shared a list of 8 Do's and Don'ts about

💡 “How to build a social enterprise!” 💡

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So be ready to learn from a very inspiring and very impactful social entrepreneur:

​Click here for the link to all podcast platforms & the resources of this episode​

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And as usual, your promised newsletter perks below 😄

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MY FAVOURITE AND MOST INSPIRING PART

When I asked Melina to tell me one thing I could not find online about her, she told me the following:

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For all of you who probably doubt like me, like every entrepreneur, who have this rollercoaster of emotions everyday:

imagine this comes from one of the seven women worldwide, recognized by the UN for her contributions to the achievement of the global sustainable development goals 2030!!!

So think about that the next time you feel down!

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DO'S & DON'TS

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Start from the social problem & Don’t build your model around profit

"You shouldn't start building your business from a business model. If you want to become a social entrepreneur, you need to put the social impact, the social problem, in the first place." We have discussed with Melina which KPI she uses (on her case for example: they distributed 50 tons of high-quality food so far, the type of food children need in order to grow well).

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Focus on how to maximize your social impact in every step you take

"As a social entrepreneur, you might need to make some decisions that will not benefit the for-profit side of your business, which means that you might hire people who come from a disadvantaged background who are maybe disabled or who are refugees and they don't speak the same language as you. So, you make this decision, you focus on supporting those people, even though you know that there are not going to be as productive as others". Melina also explained that you should be ready to accept that you company won't exist anymore if you really manage to solve the social problem you work on.

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Build a model that is financially and socially sustainable at the same time

This advice might seem to contradict the first one, but Melina explained how you need to start from the problem first, and how to solve it, but you need to find a way to have a revenue. This is how you can build a SOCIAL ENTREPRISE.

"you do need to build a business model, like any other regular business that has revenue, and maybe multiple revenue streams, which is the best scenario in order to to survive. Because if you don't survive, then you will not be able to provide any kind of solution to the problem, the social problem that you are aiming. So it works both ways: you have to be a businessman or a business woman, and a philanthropist at the same time.

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Here are the next Do's and Don'ts that I let you discover in the episode ;-)

- Focus on the 4 Ps of social entrepreneurship: People, Planet, Passion, Profit

- Be open, transparent and adaptable

- Don't use social impact as a marketing tool

- Don't look for customers but supporters of your mission

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Resources and recommendations from the episode

- Books:

​Bankers to the poors, and A World of Three Zeros: The New Economics of Zero Poverty, Zero Unemployment, and Zero Net Carbon Emissions, both from Muhammad Yunus

- Podcast:

Malcom Gladwell’s Revisionist History​

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Melina and Wise Greece:

• ​Melina on Linkedin
• ​Wise Greece website

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🙏 WANT TO SUPPORT MISSION FIRST? 🙏

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You'd be fantastic and very helpful if you:

• Forward this newsletter to the entrepreneurs around you,
• Send me your feedback (hit the button reply and tell me: "What do you like about it? How is it helpful for you?")
• Share the episode on your social media and tag me
• Leave a 5* rating and/or a review on Apple Podcast or iTunes​

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Have a nice listen to the episode and see you in two weeks for the next episode and Do's and Don'ts :-)

Keep up the good work,

Gilles

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