[April 20, 2013] Two local companies honored for social mission [Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.] Tweet (Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) April 20--Two Richmond-area businesses -- Impact Makers and Grid magazine -- have received awards for having positive social and environmental impact. Both companies are B corporations, a certification that means a business exists not just to make money for its owners, but also to have a beneficial social impact through donating their profits or time to civic and charitable causes. B Lab, a nonprofit organization that advocates for B corporations, recognized the two local businesses in its Best for the World awards to companies making a positive impact. Sixty-seven companies worldwide received awards. Impact Makers is a technology consulting firm founded in 2006 with the mission of donating its profits to charity. In 2012, the company gave $76,000 to the nonprofits Rx Partnership, which provides free prescription medication to the poor and uninsured, and Family Lifeline, which provides health education to families with children below the poverty level. The company, which has about 45 employees including full-time and contract workers, had about $3.8 million in revenue in 2012, said Michael Pirron, its chief executive officer. He expects the revenue may double this year, and the company's goal is to donate more than $250,000. Impact Makers was ranked No. 360 on Inc. magazine's list of the 500 fastest-growing U.S. companies in 2012. That ranking, along with winning the B Lab award, "is a validation of our model," Pirron said. "We can truly do well and do good at the same time," he said. Grid magazine is a B-certified corporation with a mission that includes writing about community-based solutions in the region. "We've challenged our writers all along not just to write about good in the region but to become part of that good," said Paul Spicer, co-publisher of the magazine with Leslie Strickler. The magazine, which publishes six times a year, has donated advertising space to nonprofits. Other companies that received awards include Roshan, Afghanistan's leading telecommunications provider, and New York-based Cooperative Home Care Associates, the nation's largest worker-owned cooperative, which provides home care services to elders and individuals living with disabilities. [email protected] (804) 775-8123 ___ (c)2013 the Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, Va.) Visit the Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, Va.) at www.timesdispatch.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]