Here's the 60 Minutes story I referred to earlier today:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/20/60minutes/main2830058.shtml?source=search_story
Monday, June 25, 2007
Quote
"No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or sailed to an unchartered land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit."
-- Hellen Keller
Immokalee 2020 - more thoughts
Jane and I are still making contacts and collecting information about Immokalee. Jane is leading one mother's & children's family literacy class at Immokalee Non-Profit Housing (INPH) with the help of the talented Miss Sylvia; today I'll be following up with Habitat for Humanity about some of their residents joining us at INPH.
Meanwhile, as I said, we're trying to meet every player out there, and join the discussion on plans to rid Immokalee of poverty in the next 12 years. Here are some of the ideas we've been working on:
Attract more businesses to the trade zone at the airport. Help the airport become all that it can be in terms of flights and trade.
Attract higher-paying skilled-labor types of industries to the area. Immokalee has a sizable and trainable workforce. The problem with the Florida economy in general, though, is that the types of industry we have here are (a) limited in number and (b) much lower-paying than in the northeast and west coast. People in Immokalee don't just need jobs, they need jobs that pay well.
Back to the trade zone: there's a great incubator set up there with $1 per-foot rent, for instance, but it's underutilized. People don't just need jobs; we also have to encourage entrepreneurialism. Owning a business or being a partner in an enterprise means that we benefit more fully from our own labor. I'd rather see two hundred companies of five people each than ten companies with 100 employees each. Few people achieve wealth as employees.
Redefine expectations. Jane and I are passionate about not just making people less poor, but helping them strive for wealth. Why not? There is no reason that the children of Immokalee can't amass fortunes, if they choose, just as we'd expect the kids of Naples to. We have to change the entire conversation.
English and literacy are huge components of that effort. You can't get ahead in this country until you speak the language. We are going to make sure that every person in Immokalee has the same access to ESL and literacy education as the rest of us.
Toward that end, we are working to secure $900,000 to purchase 9,000 laptop computers, one for each child in the Immokalee school system. Yes, you read right: those computers will only cost $100 each. Right now Intel and MIT are test-driving competing versions of these remarkable laptops. I've blogged on this before; 60 Minutes ran a terrific profile on the One Laptop Per Child Innitiative less than a month ago.
Right now there's a 50% dropout rate at Immokalee High. We're going to work closely with the schools and social organizations to bring that to 0%. I've blogged on this before. There is no reason to accept failure.
I have made a number of extremely wealthy friends in my life - decamillionaires, centamillionaires; even a few billionaires. Some of those have agreed to speak to groups of high school kids around town, and to be featured in a high school textbook I am writing, in order to show at-risk kids the way to wealth. The people featured will be completely self-made, from poor or middle class backgrounds, and they will be active donors and volunteers.
Right now, poor workers are wasting their money on substandard housing. We will work with other groups to bring that to an end. We want affordable and humane housing for every resident of Immokalee, both year-round and migrant.
There is still slavery in Immokalee. No joke. In 2007. Just recently, the UN sent a human rights task force down here for three weeks. This slavery will end, well before 2020.
Gangs will be driven from the community.
Poor people deserve microcredit. If you haven't read Muhammad Yunnis' "Banker to the Poor," you need to. Right away. You're not an anti-poverty activist until you are familiar with his work - it's that important.
As I said, these are only a few of the ideas that we are promoting. Immokalee 2020 is going to be a massive effort, with people and groups contributing their time, effort, and treasure in many ways. We hope you join us.
Friday, June 22, 2007
My favorite 2 hours
Every Wednesday night I volunteer my time to teach an ESL (English as a Second Language) class at the East Naples headquarters of Literacy Volunteers of Collier County, on whose board I serve.
It is by far the best two hours of my always-fun week.
Alright, to be fair to Jane and the girls, it is the best two hours of my 100-hour work week. ...And at least 90 of those hours are fun, so this is saying something.
Why do I enjoy teaching ESL so much? Well, for one, I'm a ham, and this is my chance to have a captive audience for 120 minutes. That isn't so bad.
For another, I really enjoy helping people who need it. My students are motivated to learn (they're also there voluntarily), they need to learn to make a life here, and by learning English, their life is improving in every way - careerwise, socially, politically. Helping others is an addictive behavior, and I've been hooked for almost 12 years now.
There's one totally selfish pleasure I take from my ESL classes, though. I get to learn all about the rest of the world, from the people who are natives of the countries I study. I haven't traveled all that much - a lot in the US, but outside of that I've only been to Canada, Mexico, Spain, Portugal, and France (for a day).
But I've taught people from 78 different countries on 5 continents. Seeing their countries through their eyes gives you a perspective you can never get from a book, or even from a visit as a tourist. And, while one native may give you a limited perspective, when you teach 4 or a dozen or two hundred people from the same land, you can form a pretty good view of what life must be like there.
Take this past class as an example. I have students from Argentina, Colombia, and Cuba. I don't think I'd ever taught a Cuban before, so I'm learning about a new country. And while we all hear media reports about how so-called communism isn't very pleasant under the Castro Regime, I think the details can seem a little remote; I had missed them altogether, somehow.
Life in Cuba stinks. Physically, it's the jewel of the Caribbean, one of the most beautiful places on Earth. But if you're a citizen... no thank you. I don't blame anyone for leaving.
For instance, people only make $20 a month there. Their medical needs are 100% free, which is nice. Housing is provided for them, such as it is; schooling, too. But food is rationed such that, playing by the rules, you'd starve. Adults are not allowed access to milk; only kids. You only get a couple of eggs a month - six, if I remember correctly. Even rice and bread are rationed. Playing by the rules, you can't possibly fill your stomach.
If you want to make it - at all - you have to participate in the black market. To get by, you have to be a thief. Employees at a grocery store steal food and sell the excess for a profit. Workers in a clothing factory do the same. Police take bribes to keep you out of jail if they catch you, say, driving drunk. Heaven help you if you can't pay your bribe. Heaven help your family if they're hit by a drunk driver who can afford to pay his bribes.
It is a felony to possess five pounds of coffee. Imagine that. If your cow is hit by a truck and dies, you'll go to jail for using its meat. You have to call the police, who will take it away "for" you.
Here's one that I especially love: a native Cuban on her honeymoon at a hotel will be kicked out of her room if a foreign tourist shows up in need of lodging. There's no recourse, because this is government policy. After all, Cuba's shipwrecked economy would be even worse off without those foreign dollars (or Euros or Pesos or Yen). Oh, and speaking of foreign currency: the government charges 22% to convert it. I got to teach the word racket at this point in our lesson, as in "What a racket!"
Cubans also suffer indignity in line at the store, government offices... anywhere there's a line, which is most places. Tourists are allowed straight to the front of the line, even if it's twenty-Cubans deep. Not bad if you're a tourist, though. At least, if you're a tourist without a conscience.
See why I teach English? You don't get this in a magazine, not even National Geographic. I may be helping my students master an essential life-skill. But the experience I get in return... this is a purely selfish endeavor for me.
If you don't teach ESL now, I hope you consider joining a volunteer program like the one at Literacy Volunteers of Collier County (www.Collierliteracy.org) or the Literacy Council of Bonita Springs (www.bonitaliteracy.org). Do it to help others in need, sure. But even more, do it for yourself.
It is by far the best two hours of my always-fun week.
Alright, to be fair to Jane and the girls, it is the best two hours of my 100-hour work week. ...And at least 90 of those hours are fun, so this is saying something.
Why do I enjoy teaching ESL so much? Well, for one, I'm a ham, and this is my chance to have a captive audience for 120 minutes. That isn't so bad.
For another, I really enjoy helping people who need it. My students are motivated to learn (they're also there voluntarily), they need to learn to make a life here, and by learning English, their life is improving in every way - careerwise, socially, politically. Helping others is an addictive behavior, and I've been hooked for almost 12 years now.
There's one totally selfish pleasure I take from my ESL classes, though. I get to learn all about the rest of the world, from the people who are natives of the countries I study. I haven't traveled all that much - a lot in the US, but outside of that I've only been to Canada, Mexico, Spain, Portugal, and France (for a day).
But I've taught people from 78 different countries on 5 continents. Seeing their countries through their eyes gives you a perspective you can never get from a book, or even from a visit as a tourist. And, while one native may give you a limited perspective, when you teach 4 or a dozen or two hundred people from the same land, you can form a pretty good view of what life must be like there.
Take this past class as an example. I have students from Argentina, Colombia, and Cuba. I don't think I'd ever taught a Cuban before, so I'm learning about a new country. And while we all hear media reports about how so-called communism isn't very pleasant under the Castro Regime, I think the details can seem a little remote; I had missed them altogether, somehow.
Life in Cuba stinks. Physically, it's the jewel of the Caribbean, one of the most beautiful places on Earth. But if you're a citizen... no thank you. I don't blame anyone for leaving.
For instance, people only make $20 a month there. Their medical needs are 100% free, which is nice. Housing is provided for them, such as it is; schooling, too. But food is rationed such that, playing by the rules, you'd starve. Adults are not allowed access to milk; only kids. You only get a couple of eggs a month - six, if I remember correctly. Even rice and bread are rationed. Playing by the rules, you can't possibly fill your stomach.
If you want to make it - at all - you have to participate in the black market. To get by, you have to be a thief. Employees at a grocery store steal food and sell the excess for a profit. Workers in a clothing factory do the same. Police take bribes to keep you out of jail if they catch you, say, driving drunk. Heaven help you if you can't pay your bribe. Heaven help your family if they're hit by a drunk driver who can afford to pay his bribes.
It is a felony to possess five pounds of coffee. Imagine that. If your cow is hit by a truck and dies, you'll go to jail for using its meat. You have to call the police, who will take it away "for" you.
Here's one that I especially love: a native Cuban on her honeymoon at a hotel will be kicked out of her room if a foreign tourist shows up in need of lodging. There's no recourse, because this is government policy. After all, Cuba's shipwrecked economy would be even worse off without those foreign dollars (or Euros or Pesos or Yen). Oh, and speaking of foreign currency: the government charges 22% to convert it. I got to teach the word racket at this point in our lesson, as in "What a racket!"
Cubans also suffer indignity in line at the store, government offices... anywhere there's a line, which is most places. Tourists are allowed straight to the front of the line, even if it's twenty-Cubans deep. Not bad if you're a tourist, though. At least, if you're a tourist without a conscience.
See why I teach English? You don't get this in a magazine, not even National Geographic. I may be helping my students master an essential life-skill. But the experience I get in return... this is a purely selfish endeavor for me.
If you don't teach ESL now, I hope you consider joining a volunteer program like the one at Literacy Volunteers of Collier County (www.Collierliteracy.org) or the Literacy Council of Bonita Springs (www.bonitaliteracy.org). Do it to help others in need, sure. But even more, do it for yourself.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Nonprofit Websites
Alright, guys, here's the deal: if you run a nonprofit and your website's latest news is from 2004, or even January 2007, you're dropping the ball. There are plenty of potential donors and volunteers out there who are Internet savvy, and who will pass on helping you because your website lets them down.
A website is a really cool brochure. It is an arm of your sales force. It's pretty cheap compared to other types of marketing (paying sales pros, buying ads; mass mailings). As a business consultant - and don't kid yourself, a nonprofit is very much a business - I am here to tell you, invest your energy in your online presence.
It doesn't have to be fancy. Sharp looking, yes, but frilly graphics can actually distract from your message, and they can also frustrate people who still use DSL or, Heaven forbid, dial up.
If you run the local branch of a national organization, CREATE YOUR OWN WEBSITE! I'll use the following two links as examples.
This one I find incredibly frustrating: www.americanheart.org. How do I find out about my local chapter? I can call, write them a letter, or drop by, sure. But if I want to find out about goings on of my local chapter of the American Heart Association on, say, Sunday evening, I'll have to wait. As far as I can tell, they have no local website.
Note: this is a cause Coine has given to in the past, and we will again in the future. The Heart Association does great work.
Now here's another pair of links that are dead-on: www.bgca.org - on the Boys & Girls' Club's national site, you can look up your chapter and follow the link to your local club's site.
www.bgccc.com - and here is said local site. The local guys clearly said, "Hey, we've got important work to do, and we're going to get it done. Let's make a site of our own."
A website is a really cool brochure. It is an arm of your sales force. It's pretty cheap compared to other types of marketing (paying sales pros, buying ads; mass mailings). As a business consultant - and don't kid yourself, a nonprofit is very much a business - I am here to tell you, invest your energy in your online presence.
It doesn't have to be fancy. Sharp looking, yes, but frilly graphics can actually distract from your message, and they can also frustrate people who still use DSL or, Heaven forbid, dial up.
If you run the local branch of a national organization, CREATE YOUR OWN WEBSITE! I'll use the following two links as examples.
This one I find incredibly frustrating: www.americanheart.org. How do I find out about my local chapter? I can call, write them a letter, or drop by, sure. But if I want to find out about goings on of my local chapter of the American Heart Association on, say, Sunday evening, I'll have to wait. As far as I can tell, they have no local website.
Note: this is a cause Coine has given to in the past, and we will again in the future. The Heart Association does great work.
Now here's another pair of links that are dead-on: www.bgca.org - on the Boys & Girls' Club's national site, you can look up your chapter and follow the link to your local club's site.
www.bgccc.com - and here is said local site. The local guys clearly said, "Hey, we've got important work to do, and we're going to get it done. Let's make a site of our own."
2007-8 Season
We've gotten a lot of inquiries lately, so here's the story: very few organizations have chosen dates for their fundraisers for the coming season.
Unfortunately, quite a number of groups are waiting for their peers to commit, so that they can schedule their fundraisers accordingly. This is a chicken-and-egg scenario, and the chickens aren't laying.
What can I say? Stay tuned.
Unfortunately, quite a number of groups are waiting for their peers to commit, so that they can schedule their fundraisers accordingly. This is a chicken-and-egg scenario, and the chickens aren't laying.
What can I say? Stay tuned.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Some of our projects
As you read over the things we've been up to, I hope you keep in mind that this isn't all one guy or one couple running around town trying to do everything at once. There are a lot of people involved in these endeavors. After all, collaboration is what we're all about.
3rd Annual CAN Ride. I've been putting this fun fundraiser together for about 3 weeks now. We now have a list of about a dozen volunteers pitching in, and we'll be adding to that list from now through the day of.
This is vitally important to the success of NSA. I'm getting an education in how to run an event, starting almost from scratch. This is how I have to do things: I master a particular area of endeavor, and then I can coach those who take over for me. Call it Six Sigma if you like.
I'm also getting to know folks around town. I'll know which sponsors to tap first for future events.
For more information on the CAN Ride, held July 14, visit http://www.naplessocialaction.org/. You can print up the registration form from the home page, or register via http://www.active.com/.
1st Annual Animal Lovers' Parade. We've already started putting this together. I'm focused on the CAN Ride, but there's even some overlap here (riders for CAN and participants in the Animal Lovers' Parade will in many cases be the same people.)
To get all the goods on the Parade, go to Sept. 15th on our calendar: http://www.naplessocialaction.org/.
Naples Social Action is about to be spun off of the Coine Foundation - stay tuned for that. As an independent entity, NSA will have two main functions: its calendar, and raising money for other nonprofits. We will host a fundraiser every month toward that end, starting in September with the Animal Lovers' Parade.
NSA will raise funds for the Coine Foundation, and will provide the administrative support it needs. In this way, 100% of the funding our public foundation receives will go directly to those who need our help, through the employment of teachers.
You can't compete with a nonprofit that has a terrific mission and is 100% cost-effective.
E-Newsletter. The first issue of the Naples Social Action e-newsletter was very well received by the 150 people on our emailing list. Issue #2 is due out later this week. You can access our archive on the NSA website.
The newsletter consists of a calendar of events for the next two weeks, general announcements, and our favorite section, "Neapolitans of Note," an interview with one special member of our community.
To get on our email list, contact me directly: ted.coine@coineinc.com.
Immokalee 2020. This is a huge and very compelling project. At the moment, we're developing the concept and involving many of the key players. Once NSA is humming along smoothly, this is where Jane and I will be putting most of our effort.
The Coine Foundation. Currently, Jane is teaching at Immokalee Non-Profit Housing (INPH). She leads the English as a Second Language (ESL) class for mothers while an INPH staffer teaches their pre-preschool children.
This is our pilot class; we've never held a free ESL class, so we're tweeking the model. Our biggest issue seems to be student commitment: we humans don't value what we don't have to struggle for. When you offer a free class, students don't seem to value it as much as when you charge them. Once we get this figured out, we'll expand the program. We have several other nonprofits that are on the wait list for these classes.
I'll write more about the mission and function of the Coine Foundation in a future entry. http://www.coinefoundation.org/.
The Naples English-Language Council (NELC). The theme of everything we at Coine do in our nonprofit endeavors is collaboration. Toward that end, we have formed NELC in order to bring together all of the groups and teachers of ESL in our community. We will share lessons, coordinate efforts among different ESL providers, and serve as an advocate for the needs of the immigrant community. This week or next, we will set the date and location for the first monthly NELC meeting.
NELC has ten member-groups and counting.
Professional Development Seminars. Jane and I travel the country teaching businesses how to become more successful through leadership, culture-building, and customer service. So why not share our expertise here at home, and serve good causes while we do it? Toward that end, we will soon unveil our monthly training schedule. All proceeds will benefit charity.
To learn more about what we do, visit http://www.coinetraining.com/.
Social Enterprise League. This one is currently nothing more than a conversation we're having with some other friends who also own businesses. The gist is that a Social Enterprise is a for-profit business that dedicates all or a significant portion of its profits (minimum 10%) to charity. Coine, Inc. is a social enterprise. Currently, 100% of our profits are dedicated to Naples Social Action and the Coine Foundation. Yes, we pay ourselves a decent salary first. We're not saints, just philanthropists.
The Coine Foundation is working on an annual certification process. Social Entrepreneurs will sign a contract for the coming year, in which they pledge a certain portion of their profits to charity. For that they will be awarded a Social Enterprise certificate, which they can use in all of their literature and on their websites. We will audit those companies at the end of each year to make sure that they have complied. Those that do will be given Social Enterprise status for the following year.
Think this is nuts? Are you saying to yourself, "Who on earth would agree to participate?" Plenty of business owners will not. But some already give over 10%, and some give close to it. There is a lot of random giving - maybe this year, 9%, last year 23%, next year 4%. If we guide that giving through a conscious commitment, then everybody wins.
...And this is how the business owner wins, even if he isn't motivated by altruism: he will attract and keep the best workers. Once their basic needs are met, people immediately seek meaning in their work. Employment with a social enterprise will be more desirable to the vast majority of workers, and so those companies that show their commitment to the community (local and global) will attract the best people.
Companies will be pressured by their employees and customers to do business with peer organizations, rather than non-philanthropic for-profits. Buyers will say, "I can shop at this store or this store. I can buy this product or that product. All other things being equal" - and in the case of mature businesses that sell commodities, all other things are usually equal - "I'm going to patronize the social enterprise."
I wish I'd made this up myself - what a genius I'd be! But I'm just building on the ideas of two visionaries. The first is Paul Newman; Newman's own is a for-profit, because of tax laws: you can't sell salad dressing as a nonprofit, because it competes with the private sector. But they give all of their profits to charity. They've raised hundreds of millions of dollars for just that purpose over the years.
The second visionary is Muhammad Yunnis, author of "Banker to the Poor" and winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work with microlending. Toward the end of that book, Dr. Yunnis describes his Socially-Conscious Entrepreneur, which I've shortened to Social Enterprise for reasons of catchiness. I can't do his work justice in a few lines. I highly recommend you buy - and read - his book. Click on the Amazon link at www.naplessocialaction.org and a portion of your sale will go to a great cause.
3rd Annual CAN Ride. I've been putting this fun fundraiser together for about 3 weeks now. We now have a list of about a dozen volunteers pitching in, and we'll be adding to that list from now through the day of.
This is vitally important to the success of NSA. I'm getting an education in how to run an event, starting almost from scratch. This is how I have to do things: I master a particular area of endeavor, and then I can coach those who take over for me. Call it Six Sigma if you like.
I'm also getting to know folks around town. I'll know which sponsors to tap first for future events.
For more information on the CAN Ride, held July 14, visit http://www.naplessocialaction.org/. You can print up the registration form from the home page, or register via http://www.active.com/.
1st Annual Animal Lovers' Parade. We've already started putting this together. I'm focused on the CAN Ride, but there's even some overlap here (riders for CAN and participants in the Animal Lovers' Parade will in many cases be the same people.)
To get all the goods on the Parade, go to Sept. 15th on our calendar: http://www.naplessocialaction.org/.
Naples Social Action is about to be spun off of the Coine Foundation - stay tuned for that. As an independent entity, NSA will have two main functions: its calendar, and raising money for other nonprofits. We will host a fundraiser every month toward that end, starting in September with the Animal Lovers' Parade.
NSA will raise funds for the Coine Foundation, and will provide the administrative support it needs. In this way, 100% of the funding our public foundation receives will go directly to those who need our help, through the employment of teachers.
You can't compete with a nonprofit that has a terrific mission and is 100% cost-effective.
E-Newsletter. The first issue of the Naples Social Action e-newsletter was very well received by the 150 people on our emailing list. Issue #2 is due out later this week. You can access our archive on the NSA website.
The newsletter consists of a calendar of events for the next two weeks, general announcements, and our favorite section, "Neapolitans of Note," an interview with one special member of our community.
To get on our email list, contact me directly: ted.coine@coineinc.com.
Immokalee 2020. This is a huge and very compelling project. At the moment, we're developing the concept and involving many of the key players. Once NSA is humming along smoothly, this is where Jane and I will be putting most of our effort.
The Coine Foundation. Currently, Jane is teaching at Immokalee Non-Profit Housing (INPH). She leads the English as a Second Language (ESL) class for mothers while an INPH staffer teaches their pre-preschool children.
This is our pilot class; we've never held a free ESL class, so we're tweeking the model. Our biggest issue seems to be student commitment: we humans don't value what we don't have to struggle for. When you offer a free class, students don't seem to value it as much as when you charge them. Once we get this figured out, we'll expand the program. We have several other nonprofits that are on the wait list for these classes.
I'll write more about the mission and function of the Coine Foundation in a future entry. http://www.coinefoundation.org/.
The Naples English-Language Council (NELC). The theme of everything we at Coine do in our nonprofit endeavors is collaboration. Toward that end, we have formed NELC in order to bring together all of the groups and teachers of ESL in our community. We will share lessons, coordinate efforts among different ESL providers, and serve as an advocate for the needs of the immigrant community. This week or next, we will set the date and location for the first monthly NELC meeting.
NELC has ten member-groups and counting.
Professional Development Seminars. Jane and I travel the country teaching businesses how to become more successful through leadership, culture-building, and customer service. So why not share our expertise here at home, and serve good causes while we do it? Toward that end, we will soon unveil our monthly training schedule. All proceeds will benefit charity.
To learn more about what we do, visit http://www.coinetraining.com/.
Social Enterprise League. This one is currently nothing more than a conversation we're having with some other friends who also own businesses. The gist is that a Social Enterprise is a for-profit business that dedicates all or a significant portion of its profits (minimum 10%) to charity. Coine, Inc. is a social enterprise. Currently, 100% of our profits are dedicated to Naples Social Action and the Coine Foundation. Yes, we pay ourselves a decent salary first. We're not saints, just philanthropists.
The Coine Foundation is working on an annual certification process. Social Entrepreneurs will sign a contract for the coming year, in which they pledge a certain portion of their profits to charity. For that they will be awarded a Social Enterprise certificate, which they can use in all of their literature and on their websites. We will audit those companies at the end of each year to make sure that they have complied. Those that do will be given Social Enterprise status for the following year.
Think this is nuts? Are you saying to yourself, "Who on earth would agree to participate?" Plenty of business owners will not. But some already give over 10%, and some give close to it. There is a lot of random giving - maybe this year, 9%, last year 23%, next year 4%. If we guide that giving through a conscious commitment, then everybody wins.
...And this is how the business owner wins, even if he isn't motivated by altruism: he will attract and keep the best workers. Once their basic needs are met, people immediately seek meaning in their work. Employment with a social enterprise will be more desirable to the vast majority of workers, and so those companies that show their commitment to the community (local and global) will attract the best people.
Companies will be pressured by their employees and customers to do business with peer organizations, rather than non-philanthropic for-profits. Buyers will say, "I can shop at this store or this store. I can buy this product or that product. All other things being equal" - and in the case of mature businesses that sell commodities, all other things are usually equal - "I'm going to patronize the social enterprise."
I wish I'd made this up myself - what a genius I'd be! But I'm just building on the ideas of two visionaries. The first is Paul Newman; Newman's own is a for-profit, because of tax laws: you can't sell salad dressing as a nonprofit, because it competes with the private sector. But they give all of their profits to charity. They've raised hundreds of millions of dollars for just that purpose over the years.
The second visionary is Muhammad Yunnis, author of "Banker to the Poor" and winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work with microlending. Toward the end of that book, Dr. Yunnis describes his Socially-Conscious Entrepreneur, which I've shortened to Social Enterprise for reasons of catchiness. I can't do his work justice in a few lines. I highly recommend you buy - and read - his book. Click on the Amazon link at www.naplessocialaction.org and a portion of your sale will go to a great cause.
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