Echoing Green is a neat organization that "invests in and supports outstanding emerging social entrepreneurs to launch new organizations that deliver bold, high-impact solutions." They offer a two-year fellowship program to help a group of "visionaries develop new solutions to society's most difficult problems."
This year's slate of finalists promise some great problem-solving and good to be done. A few that caught my eye:
The Op-Ed Project: Targeting, training and channeling women experts to the op-ed pages of top newspapers, online sites, and other key forums of public debate to project new diverse voices into national conversation.
GreenMango: Bringing the power of online marketing technologies to poor business owners in developing countries to enable them to grow their businesses and increase their income.
Hot Bread Kitchen: Creating well-paid careers for immigrant women while preserving baking traditions, harnessing lost human capital, and building esteem for immigrant communities.
Sustainable Health Enterprises: Unleashing girls' and women's economic potential by starting up female-run franchises that manufacture and distribute low priced, high-quality, and environmentally friendly sanitary towels for domestic and international markets.
Green Coast Enterprises: Building environmentally sound structures that can withstand the rigors of hurricanes, termites, heat, and humidity at a price that is within the reach of average people.
Check out the entire list (about 30 projects) here.