A More Powerful Path

Unleash the consumer. TransFair's whole model is based on consumers' voting with their pocketbooks. Fair-trade consumption is growing at 75% per year, Rice says, sparking partnerships for TransFair with Costco, Sam's Club, and even McDonald's. "Critics who argued that we couldn't go mainstream said that people who eat Egg McMuffins for breakfast would never give a damn about fair trade," Rice says. "Well, it turns out they do."

Invent new products. TempTime Corp. and PATH, another winner, codeveloped a vaccine-vial monitor that changes color when exposed to heat, allowing health workers to know immediately whether the medicine inside has expired. This is a pressing issue in sub-Saharan Africa, where transport and storage conditions are often less than ideal. The monitor is profitable--and when the World Health Organization began requiring that all vaccination programs use time-temperature indicators, TempTime was sitting pretty as the sole producer of that technology.

To philanthropic purists who fear that the stain of profit making might corrupt the conscience of social endeavors, the message is clear: Quit thinking small. As ably as nonprofits have created elegant solutions to address complex social problems, business has proven distribution systems, scaling strategies, and technological know-how--all things that nonprofits need to truly succeed globally. (No one gets this better than 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammed Yunus, whose Grameen Bank connects big lenders with borrowers in the poorest countries.)

Likewise, Milton Friedman fundamentalists who think profits come only from maximizing mercenary interest should take heed. These examples suggest that accomplishing social good is about profitability--for the long term, not for the quarter. The payoff can be hard to quantify at first. But pioneers like Odak feel it in their guts. They can imagine a future that's better for having made a choice. They've dared to paint a vision on the walls.

"Companies are beginning to realize that these questions of 'How can I accomplish more good in the world?' and 'Where is the market opportunity?' are essentially the same question," says Jeff Hamaoui, founder of Origo Inc., a consulting firm that helps both nonprofits and for-profits navigate this blended arena of social enterprise. "Simply put, good business design maximizes opportunity and resources, now and for the future."

So, what is your company willing to paint on the walls?