For-profit ventures help nonprofits shore up the funding they need to maintain and expand their programs

By Abny Santicola

In 2005, Vehicles for Change launched Freedom Wheels, where it sells donated vehicles (that are deemed to be in good shape) at market rate to benefit its programs. Today, Freedom Wheels accounts for $1.3 million a year, just less than 30 percent of Vehicles for Change’s total annual operating revenue. Without it, Schwartz says, the organization would no longer exist.