10 Social Impact Companies to Watch - BIZ Experiences's Brilliant 100 These companies prove that doing good is good business.
This story appears in the June 2016 issue of BIZ Experiences. Subscribe »
These brilliant companies are finding solutions that move communities forward.
1. StormSensor's platform monitors stormwater in real time using waterproof hardware and cloud-based software, helping to prevent problems such as water contamination in urban areas.
2. Thrive Market is a membership-based e-commerce site that sells (and delivers) organic groceries at up to 50 percent off retail, making healthy food accessible to low-income families.
3. Watsi is YCombinator's first nonprofit, and crowdfunds medical treatment for folks in need around the world; 100 percent of donations go to patient care.
4. Omaze offers anyone the chance to win an out-of-this-world experience for a flat $10 donation. The company is building a self-serve platform to help schools and organizations launch their own campaigns.
5. News Deeply is a single-subject news model that deep-dives into topics like Syria, Ebola and refugees. Its sites' audiences are packed with academics and humanitarians, impacting policy and action.
6. The Ocean Cleanup has crowdfunded more than $2 million for tests and a reseach expedition, inching toward the goal of building a floating device that will use the Pacific Ocean's currents to help collect floating trash.
7. Donating to nonprofits is easier with Classy, which powers charities' sites with a built-in donation option (rather than using, say, PayPal). Fund-raising jumps an average of 225 percent.
8. Nascent Object's latest product, Droppler, is a tiny device that tracks a home's water usage simply by listening to running water, and lights up to communicate waste -- which can help cut consumption by 30 percent.
9. Political news analysis platform Sidewire (and its app) cut through the campaign noise with quick-hit thoughts from candidates, campaign managers and journalists who curate content.
10. Peer-to-peer insurance company Lemonade aims to bring some social good to the costly property- and casualty-insurance game. By moving insurance to the sharing economy, it becomes accessible to all.
