Social enterprise is exciting on many levels, but one thing it isn't is new.

Goodwill Industries has combined standard business practices with social do-gooding for more than a century. And now, a fledgling spin-off from a local nonprofit is poised to become North Idaho's newest member of the social enterprise society.

We're talking about LightWorks, featured on the front page of today's Press. LightWorks qualifies as social enterprise or social entrepreneurship by straight definition.

According to Social Enterprise Alliance, social enterprises "are businesses whose primary purpose is the common good. They use the methods and disciplines of business and the power of the marketplace to advance their social, environmental and human justice agendas."

Social Enterprise Alliance goes on to list three distinguishing characteristics:

- It directly addresses an intractable social need and serves the common good, either through its products and services or through the number of disadvantaged people it employs.

- Its commercial activity is a strong revenue driver, whether a significant earned income stream within a nonprofit's mixed revenue portfolio, or a for-profit enterprise.

- The common good is its primary purpose, literally "baked into" the organization's DNA, and trumping all others.

While LightWorks is in its earliest stages and doubters would correctly perceive plenty of ways it could fall short of its goals or even fail, one of the reasons we're bullish is because we've seen some of the good accomplished by the organizations that were foundational in LightWorks' metamorphosis. We also love the idea of a pay-for-itself societal benefactor that won't rely on community fundraisers the way so many of our other nonprofits do. Further, we're impressed with the board of directors its springboard organization, HARC (Helping the At-Risk Community), has assembled. They are:

Bob Driscoll, Idaho Health & Welfare; Dan Pinkerton, Pinkerton Retirement; Denise Lunderstadt, Idaho Dept. of Labor; Eric Kiehl, Idaho Dept. of Corrections; Eve Knudtsen, Knudtsen Chevrolet; Kathy Albin, Coeur d'Alene Tribe; Lou Zebedeo, Christian Character Builders; Ron Nilson, Ground Force Manufacturing; Steve Griffitts, Mountain West Bank; Ruth Gott, Idaho Dept. of Vocational Rehabilitation; Tim Fortune, director of KTEC; Pastor Tim Remington, Good Samaritan Rehabilitation; Jessica Bauman, Express Employment; and state Rep. Luke Malek.

The Press will follow the progress of LightWorks, whose framework has already drawn national interest. If this social enterprise experiment is successful - when it's successful - Kootenai County won't be the only beneficiary. The world could gain from its example.