White House Author

Erik Schultz is the founder of Thriive, a nonprofit based in Sun Valley, Idaho, whose mission is to use a unique blend of capital and compassion to invigorate small businesses and inspire a culture of social responsibility in challenged communities globally. His professional career is dedicated to applying philanthropic capital to poverty-reducing initiatives that harvest the energy of the free market and couple it with social and environmental justice. Socially responsible small businesses are an often-overlooked contributor to food security, and Erik is allocating more of Thriive’s capital resources to help grow smallholder farming and livestock operations, greenhouses, nurseries, and food processing businesses. These small enterprises then “pay forward” their capital loans by donating food, livestock, seedlings, and crops to impoverished community members—making the entire chain of beneficiaries more self-reliant.