Pity the Poor Nonprofit, a Damsel in Distress if E’er There Was One

Calling it “A Capitalist Jolt for Charity,” the New York Times breathlessly told the story on the front page of its Sunday Business section of a pair of married philanthropists who took the nonprofit they were supporting and transformed it into a for-profit venture because, shock of shocks, what they were funding was costing them money. After pouring $10 million into In2Books, “a philanthropy that used books and online tools to enhance skills of inner-city students,” Miles Gilburne and Nina Zolt watched their “costly venture [grow] only gradually, classroom by classroom,” which compelled them to solicit angel investors for funding …read more