True innovation requires compassion and the belief that what does succeed should be shared by all, not just a select few. That spirit transformed rural America in the 1930s when local leaders and community members formed electric cooperatives and turned the lights on in places large private companies would not.

Thanks to their courage and compassion, rural Americans with electricity went from 10% to 90% within a few short years. This model has worked well for a long time because it measures success in lives changed and communities transformed – not in profit.