About
The International Institute for
Social Entrepreneurship
What is social entrepreneurship?
Social enterprises are organizations that intentionally strive to combat social problems such as poverty, unemployment, food waste, discrimination and more. They may be legally structured as nonprofit organizations, for-profit businesses (e.g. Benefit Corporations), or a combination of both.
Dr. Rasheda L. Weaver
Mission of IISE
The mission of IISE, formerly Weaver’s Social Enterprise Directory (WSED), is to inspire, educate, and equip social entrepreneurs with the tools needed to advance communities.
In 2018, WSED started as the largest national database for social enterprises in the United States. In 2022, due to demand, we transformed into a global training company for social entrepreneurs - people that aim to run companies (mostly small businesses) that offer them financial freedom while also improving communities they care about.
Our focus is on equipping entrepreneurs to be good to themselves and their communities.
Social Mission
WSED is a Benefit Corporation, which is a for-profit social enterprise legal entity. However, at the end of the year, we donate a portion of our profits to organizations that are doing work that advances the mental health and well-being of young men in honor of Dr. Weaver’s late husband Alexander Weaver.
One in particular is Teen Challenge. As a teenager, Alexander attended a program called Teen Challenge that helped him in his struggle with anxiety and addiction. One of Alexander’s dreams was to return to Teen Challenge to speak to youth about how he turned his life around, got married, had children, and became a successful engineer. In 2003, Alexander’s father David Weaver donated a building to Teen Challenge. In honor of Alexander, WSED aims to donate a portion of profits to organizations like Teen Challenge that seek to improve the lives and well-being of young men. Alexander and Dr. Weaver have two beautiful children together. He was an amazing husband and father that provided a great life for his family. He will forever be missed.
Thank you to everyone that has purchased a book, coaching session, bootcamp, and other training programs. By choosing WSED you have also chosen to advance these causes. You are appreciated!
Dr. Weaver’s Biography
Dr. Rasheda L. Weaver is one of the world’s leading experts on social and commercial entrepreneurship. Her work is currently sponsored by the Biden-Harris Administration’s Global African Descent Social Entrepreneurship Network. She conducted the first large-scale empirical study on the social, economic, and legal activities of social enterprises in the United States and is the Founder of the International Institute for Social Entrepreneurship. In her former work as the first Assistant Professor for the Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, that was established with a $15 million donation to Iona University, she help build its teaching, research, and service foundation. Dr. Weaver has taught entrepreneurship to over 1,000 students globally. Her newly published book “Social Entrepreneurship: A Practical Introduction” is a seminal work in the field of social entrepreneurship and is used by social entrepreneurs, students and faculty around the world.
In addition to running IISE, Dr. Weaver works as a grant reviewer for the United States Department of Agriculture’s entrepreneurship grant programs. Read Dr. Weaver’s full biography at www.rashedaweaver.com
Timeline – A Life’s Passion
2004 - Dr. Weaver enrolled into a business high school in midtown Manhattan to learn how to start a business that would address poverty in her hometown of the Bronx, New York. At the time, she did not know what a “social enterprise” was or that there was a growing movement for social entrepreneurship.
2011 - She enrolls into NYU to study applied psychology with an emphasis on social interventions and learns the term “social entrepreneurship” but realized there was a lack of research on the topic that could help her launch a social enterprise in her community.
2017 - After years of research, she received her PhD in Public Affairs-Community Development after conducting the first large-scale study of the social, economic, and legal activities of social enterprises in the United States.
The original site for Weaver’s Social Enterprise Directory, Inc. when it launched in 2018 as a map for social enterprises in the United States.
2018 - Dr. Weaver founded Weaver’s Social Enterprise Directory, which started as the largest national databases for social enterprises in America.
2021 - After demand from social entrepreneurs, she created a 5-day online bootcamp called the “Ready, Set, Launch: Social Enterprise Bootcamp” to aid social entrepreneurs in launching sustainable social ventures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
2022 - Dr. Weaver started running Weaver’s Social Enterprise Directory full-time and her first book “Social Entrepreneurship: A Practical Introduction” was published. The book immediately became an Amazon best-selling new release and a seminal work in the field.
2023 - The online and in-person versions of the “Ready, Set, Launch: Social Enterprise Bootcamp” launched in Summer 2023 to enable social entrepreneurs, from all parts of the globe, to access affordable, evidence-based training in social entrepreneurship.
2024 - In 2024, WSED evolved into the International Institute for Social Entrepreneurship, a school for social entrepreneurs and a partner to other stakeholders in the field.