Though only founded in 2006, TOM's shoes probably won't be unheard of by anyone who might read this post. TOM's, which name comes from a hope for a better tomorrow, operates in a way they call One for One. For every pair of shoes someone buys, they donate a pair to child in need. Why shoes? As it says on Toms.com, "A leading cause of disease in developing countries is soil-transmitted diseases, which can penetrate the skin through bare feet. Wearing shoes can help prevent these diseases, and the long-term physical and cognitive harm they cause."
The business approach is simple yet brilliant. Appearing as a nonprofit company because of all the donating that TOM's does, it is in fact a for-profit company that makes money by selling its products. By doing so, TOM's doesn't have to rely on donations to keep providing children with shoes. This protects TOM's from the current dry spell in giving that nonprofits are going through in this recession. They can give away as many shoes as they can because of the sales revenue that keeps coming in.
ABC news did on a story on founder Blake Mycoskie and his company back in 2009 with an accompanying video that sums up this cause better than I can.
http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=8480316
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