(We interrupt our series on the Nonprofit Martyrdom Syndrome
for a breaking news report on a new social enterprise – well, sort of)
My morning ritual is scrambled eggs, coffee and a quick flip
through my local news (that love/hate relationship in newsprint that we know as
The Baltimore Sun – and a quick flip it is).
Turning to the business news this morning, my heart jumped with
excitement about a prominent feature article.
This particular piece announced the opening of a new
nonprofit in Charm City, The Baltimore Community ToolBank. Kudos to the Sun for an interesting story, a
good graphic, run in a prominent place. Mr. Abell would have been proud – that’s how
you sell newspapers.
Kudos too for an interesting take on a unique issue. Turns
out that the reason this organization exists is so that “churches, schools and
charitable organizations” can have a place to borrow tools when they need them
for “service projects like building playgrounds, cleaning streams or rehabbing
houses”. Ok, that’s great. I like a good
stream cleaning as much as the next guy. I also know that community service projects
are a great way to engage constituents and build community spirit. The article
states the need this way – “anyone who has ever volunteered for a community
project and has had to stand around waiting for a shovel or rake will
appreciate this.” Sure, keeping
volunteers happy is important. And
renting tools from your local rental shop can be expensive, putting a strain on
limited resources. So the theory is that a lack of affordable access to tools is
an issue in getting community projects done - interesting. Maybe not as big an issue as some of the other
social causes we are fighting, but certainly an honest attempt to get at a root
cause (no pun intended). So, I’m intrigued and read on.
I do a quick Google and see that the Baltimore operation was
established in partnership with The Parks and People Foundation, who I love and
do great things; and funded by some good local heroes like the Abell Foundation.
So now I know that there are some smart and well respected social innovators involved
in the project, and my interest level goes up significantly.
So, how about the solution? These fine folks have formed a
nonprofit that lends out tools (BTW, this is the third one, following Atlanta
and Charlotte, with Cincinnati, Houston and Portland coming soon). Why a
non-profit? Well, because the other options (buying or a commercial rental) are
costly and can reduce the ability of the local group to get projects done.
Again, I get that. But these ToolBanks don’t just let you borrow their
wheelbarrows; you rent them. The rental
rate is “3 percent of the value of the tools, multiplied by the number of weeks
to be borrowed”. Oh, OK, now I get it,
it’s a Social Enterprise, right? Yea! Earned Income! Fees that go to offset
operating costs! Now my fist is in the
air and I’m hootin and hollerin!
Then, is read that “the tool fees won’t be enough to support
ToolBank’s operations, so it will need continued support from businesses and
foundations to remain viable”. And with
that one fateful line my heart went from glad to sad. If only. If only the philanthropic support went to the startup costs, and the rental fees covered the ongoing operations.
OK, that would mean that the rental rates would need to be a
bit higher, sure. And if they were a bit higher, it’s likely that not as many
projects would get done. But I’m willing to bet that it would still be more
than are being done currently, and we’d avoid the situation where the ToolBank
and the church it is serving might be applying to the same grantmaker or courting
the same donor. We’d have a great idea
that is truly self-sustaining and helping others to achieve their vision.
Don’t get me wrong here. This is a good idea and an interesting
model, with a lot of promise. So much promise that it really is a shame that
they didn’t take that final step.
A really good social enterprise has three core attributes.
It has a sound root cause social change theory, it runs its operations
efficiently, and it doesn’t depend on grants and gifts for ongoing
operations. They say two out of three ain’t
bad. Baltimore ToolBank is probably 2 & ½ out of three. So close……………..
(We now return you to our regularly scheduled program)
