The NESsT Furthering the Field (FtF) Initiative is comprised of a variety of efforts by NESsT to increase awareness and critical analysis of entrepreneurship in the nonprofit sector and to attract new leaders to the emerging field.

• increase awareness and critique of entrepreneurship in the nonprofit sector among nonprofit practitioners, donors/philanthropists and policymakers;
• promote high standards of excellence, ethical and responsible behavior in the field of social entrepreneurship;
• disseminate practical lessons learned from the application of entrepreneurship in the nonprofit sector (including from NESsT's own experiences);
• provide opportunities for educational and professional development in the social entrepreneurship field.

The Furthering the Field Initiative is currently comprised of the following:

1. International Social Enterprise Exchange (ISEE)

   Designed specifically for graduate-level students and mid-career professionals in business administration, nonprofit management and international development, ISEE seminars combine classroom study, field/casework, and eco/adventure tour experiences to provide participants with a comprehensive introduction to social enterprise development in the emerging market context.

2. NESsT Publication Series
   The NESsT Publications Series is intended for donors, nonprofit leaders, philanthropists and researchers worldwide to help foster the effective and responsible use of enterprise activities in the nonprofit sector.



3. NESsT Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (NESsTERs)
   A major challenge of the emerging fields of social enterprise and venture philanthropy is that of identifying individuals with the unique mixture of skills needed to understand the unique cultural, ethical and management needs of nonprofit organizations as they enter the for-profit marketplace. The NESsT Entrepreneur-in-Residence (NESsTER) program was launched by NESsT in 1999 to address this shortcoming by providing opportunities for recent graduates of business and nonprofit management programs and for other young/mid-career professionals to work on distinct initiatives with NESsT and the social enterprises we support.
   

    

4. Social Enterprise Ethics Initiative (SEE INIT)

NESsT's Social Enterprise Ethics Initiative (SEE INIT) aims to promote greater accountability and transparency in the social enterprise field.

5. Venture Philanthropy Forum
   An important part of NESsT's mission is to encourage discussion and debate among nonprofit practitioners, donors, policymakers, academics and students around issues related to nonprofit entrepreneurship, social enterprise, venture philanthropy, philanthropic investment and the nonprofit capital market. Since 1999, NESsT has hosted a number of high-profile events toward this aim, including: the International Venture Philanthropy Forum (Budapest, October 2001) and the NGO Venture Forum (Budapest, January 1999).



6. International Venture Philanthropist Award
   In an effort to promote excellence in the field of venture philanthropy and to create international role models in the field, the NESsT Board of Directors established the International Venture Philanthropy Award (IVPA) in 2001. This bi-annual Award recognizes an individual and/or organization that has applied venture philanthropy approaches in a particularly unique way to address a pressing community need. The recipient of the IVPA serves as an international role model to practitioners, investors, philanthropists and donors for applying venture philanthropy approaches.



7. Sustainable NGO Financing Project
   Launched in 1997 by NESsT, the Sustainable NGO Financing Project (SNFP) was a project focused on increasing awareness of and capacity for social enterprise among nonprofit, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Central Europe (i.e., Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia).



8. NESsT Curriculum Development
   Part of the goal of the NESsT Furthering the Field Initiative is to integrate the study of social enterprise into the curricula of nonprofit management and business school programs and to encourage young leaders to pursue careers in the social enterprise field. NESsT works toward this goal by providing practical internships, developing classroom and research materials, developing course curricula and assisting student research efforts on entrepreneurship in the nonprofit sector.



9. NESsT Colleagues
   In an effort to encourage the exchange of experience among organizations active in the fields of social entrepreneurship, social investment and venture philanthropy around the world, NESsT has assembled a list (by no means comprehensive) of links to some of our colleagues and peers around the world.