Fortune recently released their 2023 Change the World list, featuring companies “mobilizing the creative tools of capitalism to help solve social problems – using the profit motive to achieve goals that are just as important as turning a profit, and sometimes more so.”
It's inspiring to see people from around the world come together to give their time, talent and treasure to help solve social problems. For example, what Mastercard has done in a time of crisis is invaluable:
“After Russia’s invasion spurred an exodus of Ukrainians to Poland, Mastercard analyzed data to figure out which towns could best help. Its Where to Settle app helped 240,000 people decide where to go.”
Mastercard’s creativity and pivot in a time of crisis reminds me of the incredible collaboration of individuals, nonprofits and for-profits using Airbnb's platform to support people displaced from their homes due to conflict and disaster. Since 2020, almost 77,000 Hosts from 187 countries and regions around the world have offered emergency stays through Airbnb.org.
Too Good to Go, an online marketplace for surplus food, is focused on eliminating food waste to curb global warming:
“Discarded food is not only a waste but a driver of global warming. Too Good to Go helps restaurants and stores sell or donate extra food rather than throwing it away. Its app has kept 243 million meals out of landfills.”
Mobilizing the creative tools of capitalism to help solve social problems... I’ve re-read that sentence more times than I care to admit. I’ve dedicated the majority of my career to fostering social good for both nonprofit and for-profit, and this, I believe, is the North Star we can all use to guide our work. No matter who we are, where we are or how big our operating budget is. Each and every one of us can do this. We all have the power to be creative, to think outside the box and use our collective powers for change.
I’m inspired every day by the Alzheimer’s Association. More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, and over 11 million family members and friends are providing their care. By all accounts this is a national crisis. The changemakers at the Alzheimer’s Association remain committed to driving breakthrough research and making sure everyone has access to early detection, treatment and the care and support they need.
Incredible progress has been made - for the first time in history, FDA-approved treatments are available to reduce cognitive decline for those living with early-stage Alzheimer’s. In 2023 the Association invested a record $100 million in dementia science research initiatives and their advocacy work in support of the Comprehensive Care for Alzheimer’s Act contributed to the announcement of a new Medicare initiative to improve the way dementia care is delivered
This progress has lit a fire in each and every member of the Alzheimer’s Association team to think outside the box, to ask what else they can be doing, to push their partners to use our collective powers to end Alzheimer’s. As one of many examples, the Association is partnering with MATTER for the second annual Alzheimer’s Association Pitch Competition, a global competition for innovations that increase access to quality, person-centered care for people living with Alzheimer’s disease in underserved communities.
I get to work alongside the changemakers at the Alzheimer’s Association and many other organizations mobilizing for good every single day. I do not take for granted what a privilege that is.
I commit this year, as I do every year, to use my powers for good.
