“BUMPER” Book Bus: In Search of Balance

Abstract

'Bumper' - the Children's Book Bus is a social entrepreneurial organization in Russia which helps children to fall in love with reading. This is a children's book club on wheels, the shop with the best children's books that travels around the country and brings books to the remote areas of Russia where there is lack of bookshops and libraries for kids. Being a social entrepreneurial organization, 'Bumper' tries to fulfill its main mission - to help kids to fall in love with books by reaching as many kids as possible (especially those in orphan houses and remote areas) and providing them with a good selection of high quality literature. But, in order to reach its goals, the company needs to be economically sustainable in a rather competitive market. The dilemma which the owners of the company face reflects one of the most urgent problems in social entrepreneurship - overcoming mission drift and reaching the balance between financial sustainability and social impact. The case discusses Bumper's position as a hybrid organization which needs to achieve economic and social objectives in order to be a sustainable social entrepreneurial organization. This case was written with the support of a Case Writing Scholarship awarded by The Case Centre.