Most nonprofit organizations, like the Tennessee Williams character Blanche Dubois, have always relied on the kindness of strangers—that is, on resources donated by people and institutions beyond their control, not on wealth they generated themselves. But in recent years, nonprofits have tried to support their mission by creating a new kind of resource called "community wealth." It comes not from gifts, grants, annual dinners, auctions, and bake sales but from profitable enterprises and partnerships, revenue sources similar to those of an ordinary business but directed to social betterment rather than shareholder value.

In 1995, while conducting research for a book, I sought out examples of "community wealth enterprises"—organizations that were creating wealth rather than merely redistributing it. I struggled to find any. Only two examples made it into the book: Paul Newman’s food company, Newman’s Own, and Joseph Kennedy’s organization, Citizens Energy, which provides energy assistance to low-income people.¹ Both were celebrity-driven operations whose revenue-making ventures could hardly be replicated by ordinary nonprofits. But even in 1995, without my realizing it, many of them were quietly experimenting with other revenue-earning strategies, which didn’t rely on unusual features such as celebrity names. These organizations may not have organized conferences...