Brewed Fresh Daily

They are the sort who make you want to chuck everything and join their crusades. In the streets of the dingy Brooklyn, New York neighborhood of Red Hook, Ian Marvy is putting teenagers to work in organic gardens. Karen Tse, a lawyer and minister, is building networks of public defenders in Cambodia, China, and Vietnam. Nicole Rinke, just out of law school, is battling big mining companies in Nevada over pollution. They are all social entrepreneurs, and since 1987, the Echoing Green Foundation has funded more than 350 of them -- smart, often obsessive young people with solutions to problems that others prefer to overlook. Echoing Green gives individuals seed financing of $30,000 a year for two years, plus health benefits and management support. Just as important, Echoing Green "fellows" win access to a community of like-minded activists who lend ideas, experience, and solace.