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Went to the Crossroad
I went to the crossroad
Fell down on my knees
I went to the crossroad
Fell down on my knees
Asked the Lord above "Have mercy now,
Save poor Bob, if you please."
"Crossroad Blues," Robert Johnson
You may know the legend of blues singer Robert Johnson, a man rumored to have sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his musical talent. The general nature of the content in this issue of The Sophist--which focuses on the intersection of nonprofit and corporate practices--brings this legend to mind. Most nonprofits want to free themselves from foundation dependency as much as Robert Johnson wanted to be able to play the blues, and most corporations wouldn't mind shedding their devil image.
In spite of the positive talk about inter-sector collaboration in recent years, many see these efforts as nonprofits pandering to for-profit measures of success. But, in our daily lives nonprofit and for-profit concerns often intermingle, without clear distinction. Whether or not we would like for them to be more neatly separated is only an intellectual debate. The real consideration centers on how to form and maintain nonprofit/for-profit connections that allow for each sector to make meaningful use of concepts borrowed from the other--and make those connections and do those deals without losing anyone's soul in the bargain.
In this issue of The Sophist we present a variety of perspectives on nonprofit/for-profit intersections. In "Social Entrepreneurship and Earned-income Strategies: The Next Wave," we look at the use of these contested strategies in the nonprofit sector. Three Wharton MBAs walk the road less traveled and talk about their past experience in the nonprofit sector and their plans to return in "MBAs: What Can They Offer Nonprofits?" And "Along the Road to Corporate Social Responsibility" looks at a nonprofit organized to educate for-profits on responsible and sustainable business.
Each of these three pieces presents the thoughts and opinions of one side of an issue. We acknowledge that and invite you to agree, disagree, expound, take issue, and otherwise jump into the fray via our online poll, which focuses on MBAs in the nonprofit sector, and our discussion boards, where threads for these articles have already been begun.
The Editors
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