What business entrepreneurs are to the economy, social entrepreneurs are to social change. They are, writes David Bornstein, the driven, creative individuals who question the status quo, exploit new opportunities, refuse to give up — and remake the world for the better.

How to Change the World tells the fascinating stories of these remarkable individuals — many in the United States, others in countries from Brazil to Hungary — providing an In Search of Excellence for the nonprofit sector. In America, one man, J.B. Schramm, has helped thousands of low-income high school students get into college. In South Africa, one woman, Veronica Khosa, developed a home-based care model for AIDS patients that changed government health polity. In Brazil, Fabio Rosa helped bring electricity to hundreds of thousands of remote rural residents. Another American, James Grant, is credited with saving 25 million lives by leading and "marketing" a global campaign for immunization. Yet another, Bill Drayton, created a pioneering foundation, Ashoka, that has funded and supported these social entrepreneurs and over a thousand like them.

These extraordinary stories highlight a massive transformation that is going largely unreported by the media: Around the world, the fastest-growing segment of society is the nonprofit sector, as millions of ordinary people — social entrepreneurs — are increasingly stepping in to solve the problems where governments and bureaucracies have failed. How to Change the World shows, as its title suggests, that with determination and innovation, even a single person can make a surprising difference. For anyone seeking to make a positive mark on the world, this will be both an inspiring readand an invaluable handbook.

"The inspiring portraits that emerge from his in-depth reporting on the environments in which individual programs evolved... certainly show these unstoppable entrepreneurs as extraordinarily savvy community development experts." Publishers Weekly

"Social entrepreneurs" are to social change what business entrepreneurs are to the economy. Aimed at the general reader, this text presents inspiring accounts of dozens of individuals around the world who have stepped in to solve problems where governments and bureaucracies have failed. For example, one of the innovators profiled is a South African woman who developed a home-based care model for AIDS patients that changed government health policy. Another chapter tells the story of an American man credited with saving 25 million lives by marketing a global campaign for immunization.
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"The social entrepreneurs chronicled in this book are part of the vital generation of independent, creative leaders..." Bill Bradley

"...a book about hope, about courage, and about the power of those extraordinary men and women who change the world." Jeff Skoll, Founder and Chairman, Skoll Foundation; first president of eBay

"...Bornstein's book will touch the hearts and minds of many. I hope it will get the wide readership it deserves." Arminio Fraga, Former Governor of the Central Bank of Brazil

What business entrepreneurs are to the economy, social entrepreneurs are to social change. They are, writes Bornstein, the driven, creative individuals who question the status quo, exploit new opportunities, refuse to give up--and remake the world for the better. This book tells the fascinating stories of these remarkable individuals.