Portland, Oregon is shifting to support a wide spectrum of colors to include social and economic change, as well as green sustainability. What nurtures change innovators? What could Portland do better together to strengthen a foundation for social innovation to flourish?

Whether you attend the Young Women's Social Entrepreneurship monthly workshops, the new events being held by local universities on social entrepreneurship, or our own monthly Social Innovation Forums, it's clear that there is something going on in this city. Ideas for change are discussed at every social gathering in town. Along with ideas for making a difference, there is always the usual long list of barriers we are all up against.

It isn't only start up funding that keeps good ideas from becoming real. It's when outdated examples are held up as models. It's when those in the support system that caters to small business don't understand the start-up needs of a social business--they're different.

Social entrepreneurship is setting a higher bar for the design of nonprofits, and challenging the traditional ways of doing the business of doing good. It's forging a path for innovators to follow, but the needed support system hasn't caught up. As serial innovators, we have taken on the challenge of removing barriers and increasing support for change.

We have designed a City Model for Social Innovation that outlines key elements that must be in place for a city's social innovators to put down roots and thrive. What could that look like in Portland, Oregon?