Thinking About Thinking

Every day I meet for-profit companies that are trying to change the world by solving really big problems with groundbreaking innovations.  Today I asked my twitter friends which non-profits or charities are following suit.  Just like my day job, I am especially interested in charities that may be emerging or somewhat under the radar.  Following is a running list of what I heard (and who referred it).  In alphabetical order:

1. ACCESS– helping Boston youth achieve higher education.
2. Acumen Fund – building businesses to solve poverty. (brandonhaskins)
3. Alley Cat Allies – improving the lives of cats.
4. CharityWater – bringing clean water to developing nations. (brandonhaskins)
5. CommonImpact – building stronger communities. (fyietc)
6. DonorsChoose.org – funding projects for teachers. (BrettTopche)
7. Facing History – link the past to moral choices today. (bussgang)
8. Generations Inc – intergenerational outreach.
9. Global Poverty Project – helping those in extreme poverty. (robtrotter)
10. Green Light Fund – helping urban families in Boston.  (Polachi_Co)
11. Idealist – global clearinghouse of nonprofit resources. (fyietc)
12. Jumpstart – building vital skills in children.
13. Kiva – loans that change lives.  (Danielmsullivan)
14. Mass Mentoring – youth mentoring in Massachussetts.
15. MobileActive – using mobile phones for social good. (fyietc)
16. ModestNeeds.org – helping low-income households with emergencies.
17. NetSquared – remixing the web for social change. (fyietc)
18. Oaktree Foundation – youth-run development organization. (robtrotter)
19. Pratham USA – imagine India where every child can read.
20. Restavek Freedom – putting an end to child slavery in Haiti.
21. RootCause – supporting social innovators. (fyietc)
22. Servings – bringing meals to the critically ill and homebound. (LyndonMouton)
23. SocialActions – open source database of social actions. (fyietc)
24. Teach for America – national teacher corps. (aseidman)
25. Ushahidi – crowdsourcing crisis management (justindavey)
26. WorldChanging – environmental media organization. (fyietc)
27. Year Up – empowering urban talent.

(If anyone has other ideas, please leave a comment or tweet me and I will update the list.)