New Online Resource for Social Enterprises
July 21, 2009 by admin
Filed under Initiatives
Zoosa launched its new website today (www.zoosa.org) as a single destination for all social enterprise resources: News, blogs, actions/ideas, jobs and skills-based volunteer projects.
“We’ve partnered with several top organizations in order to make it easier for time-constrained professionals to find all of the information & opportunities which are relevant to them. Rather than aimlessly searching across multiple websites, individuals can now utilise Zoosa as their portal to the social enterprise network,” says Zoosa’s CEO, Mike McGlade.
To realize their vision, the Zoosa team broadened the definition of social enterprise beyond non-profits to include organizations focused on community development, education, government, and the environment, including alternative energy/clean-tech start-ups. Brian Fleming, Zoosa’s CTO, explains, “An organisation’s tax-status does not determine its degree of social impact.”
What makes Zoosa unique is that it partners with existing players in the social enterprise sector. If an individual clicks on content which originated from another source, he will be directed back to the partner’s website. “Our goal is help our partners by sending new traffic to their sites. If we succeed in reaching a larger audience, everyone wins,” says Fleming.
Zoosa’s emphasis on skills-based volunteering creates a unique opportunity for non-profits to connect to professionals who are willing to share their skills at no cost. Given the tough economic climate, many individuals are looking for projects which either help them learn new professional skills or help them maintain their existing skills. Recent college graduates, for example, would likely benefit from creating a Zoosa account and linking it to their existing online professional profiles.
McGlade adds, “Non-profits can tap into these idle resources by posting short-term volunteer projects or professional advisor positions on Zoosa. We will also be launching a member network in the near future which allows organisations to search for potential board members or skills-based volunteers based on their location, job function, and interest in certain issues of social responsibility.”
About Zoosa
Zoosa is a new web site with a mission to make it easier for professionals to learn about and get involved in the social enterprise sector. Our goal is to create a single destination for all social enterprise resources: News, blogs, actions/ideas, jobs and skills-based volunteer projects.◊
