Giving Compass' Take:

• Fast Company highlights 10 inspiring business stories from 2018, ranging from innovative technology, aiding our environment, strengthening our workforce and other socially-responsible initiatives. 

• In what ways can corporations increase their role in contributing to the greater good in 2019? Which models of sustainability seem likely to lead the way?

• Here's more on how to make Corporate Social Responsibility an empowering part of any company.

While much of 2018 was environmentally, socially, and geopolitically turbulent, the good news is that many people are still finding ways to accomplish them–sometimes to directly counteract the darkness they see around them.

These people don’t just think differently, they’re different from each other, representing a mix of ages, gender, race, and walks of life. Here are 10 of the most inspiring efforts from 2018. Together, they continue to show how anyone interested in using business as a force for good can make a difference:

  1. One company hired anyone who applied. Now it's starting a movement.
  2. A 14-year-old made an app to help Alzheimer's patients recognize their loved ones.
  3. Every employee at a grilled cheese restaurant called All Square has a criminal record.
  4. A basic income program will give $1,000 a month to black mothers.
  5. Is tech finally realizing that contractors need benefits, too?
  6. The ocean cleanup vessel is on its way to clean up the Great Pacific garbage patch.
  7. Goodr is an app that delivers leftover food to the hungry, instead of to the trash.
  8. The four-day workweek is good for business.
  9. Memo to the Silicon Valley Boy's Club: Arlan Hamilton has no time for your BS.
  10. The Parkland, Florida, students led the U.S. beyond thoughts and prayers — and they're just getting started.

Read the full article about inspiring stories from 2018 by Ben Paynter at Fast Company.