The Social Economy comprises a range of different organizational entities and actors. The SE is often refered to as a "third sector" of economic and political activity, separate from the private sector (business) and the public sector (government), though it can interact and possess elements of both. This third sector can be broken down further into three sub-sectors: the community sector, the voluntary sector and the social enterprise sector.

The SE and its affiliated enterprises are particularly active in the following areas:

• financial services (i.e. credit unions)
• co-operatives
• home care and assisted living
• health care and social services
• community economic development
• arts and culture
• heritage
• education, especially early childhood education
• child care
• information technology and community media
• non-profit activities, civil society and social movements
• job training and worker reintegration (i.e., offender repatriation)
• literacy and life-skills training
• houseing, especially housing co-operatives
• recreation and tourism
• conflict resolution and peacebuilding
• environment, preservation and sustainability
• fair trade and ethical purchasing
• triple of quadruple bottom line accounting

Among the organizations that are a part of the Social Economy are:

• social assests (housing, childcare etc.)
• social economy enterprises
• cooperatives
• community training and skills development
• integrated social, political and economic planning
• capacity building and community empowerment initiatives
• credit unions
• non-profit organizations and civil society groups
• the voluntary sector
• charities and foundations
• mutuals
• micro-credit enterprises
• ethical financing and purchasing groups
• the trade union movement
• "grass-roots" organizations

The SE sector is also sometimes referred to by a number of related or associated concepts. Among them are:

• Community Economic Development (CED)
• Social Enterprise
• Solidarity Economy
• Economie sociale et solidaire
• Collective enterprises
• "third" sector
• non-profit sector
• voluntary sector
• charitable sector
• non-governmental sector