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

By Abny Santicola

“We had no real way to do that because we weren’t set up for that,” says Stephen Woods, executive director of Open Hand. “There were so many requests, we thought that there was a market out there for this to support the mission.”

Good Measure Meals provides gourmet-quality meals to fitness-conscious people, diabetics and others with special dietary requirements — and even just busy professionals who don’t have time to shop for food and cook. It’s a win-win in that it benefits the community by providing healthy food for the paying public, and 100 percent of its net proceeds support the organization.