Ogden-Newton grabs NAVCA chief by the short and Curleys!

Social Enterprise London CEO Allison Ogden-Newton has flown to the defence of social enterprise after its value was questioned on the social networking site Twitter by NAVCA CEO Kevin Curley.

NAVCA - the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action - represents local third sector infrastructure organisations and Curley describes himself on Twitter as a 'charity leader, internationalist and father living for independent, local voluntary action, mutuality and social justice'.

His Twitter comments are followed by 252 people, including many from the third sector. Last week he Tweeted: '[I'm] wondering about social enterprise. Is it charity plus business for social benefit? Or a respectable veneer for profiteers?'

He then added: 'Does calling your organisation a social enterprise give you a licence to do anything which makes money regardless of mission and values? Is political enthusiasm for social enterprise - all the parties love it - just an excuse to axe grants in the name of "sustainability"?'

Finally, he asked: 'If social enterprise relies on state-funded contracts how on earth does this represent an example of third sector "sustainability"?'

Ogden-Newton responded today with a public letter. She said she was 'surprised and disappointed' at his 'apparent lack of understanding of the structures, aims and values of a crucial element of your sector'.

Ogden-Newton said: 'I cannot let your comments pass without response. Given that your queries were posted in the public domain, this response is also being made public.'

She rejected each of his queries saying that 'the idea that social enterprise is a "veneer" for anything is quite wrong' and 'social enterprises are structured in ways which put the mission and values of that company at the heart of every commercial decision'.

She also said that social enterprise was 'not a solution to everything' and it was important to 'emphasise the distinction between grants and contracts'.

'Of course, as with charities, public sector organisations and private companies, the model is open to abuse, but to suggest that at the heart of social enterprise is anything other than the desire to achieve lasting social change is a gross inaccuracy,' said Ogden-Newton.

Ogden-Newton told Curley she would be delighted to take him on a tour of London social enterprises and looked forward to his response.

To read Ogden-Newton's full response click here

Search for Curley on Twitter by the name kevincurley