Bill Drayton: 'Promise You'll Never Use the Word Non-Profit Again'

Bill Drayton asked listeners to a weekly show on New York's WOR 710 News Talk Radio to promise never to use the word “non-profit” or “non-government” (as in NGO) again. Asked to discuss today's challenges and changing trends in philanthropy on Denver Frederick’s “Business of Giving” show, Drayton said "you do not want to be a non-anything!

"People are standing up and becoming changemakers, equal citizens in a world of change. The active ingredient, and one of the most important end products, is citizens: hence citizen sector, citizen movement, citizen organization. You have to promise you'll never use the word 'non-profit' again!"

Drayton challenged people everywhere to rethink their social business potential—saying that today's global economy, and the citizen sector specifically, is a new game in need of new leadership. He described the history of Ashoka, the organization he founded, and its global network of leading social entrepreneurs.

“What defines us (as social entrepreneurs) is that one or a group of people care about something and they say we are going to organize to provide a service or cause a change or both."

Be sure to catch Drayton and Frederick in this 20-minute podcast on what makes a great social entrepreneur, recorded this past weekend. They cover a wide range of topics, including the fundamental skills required in a world defined by change, Drayton's vision for the future, and the pair even answer the age-old question: what exactly is a social entrepreneur?

For more on issues of charitable giving, and its impact on your world, join Denver Frederick every Saturday at 8:00 p.m. ET or listen to archived podcasts at WOR710.com.