Big Issue
In 1991 a news and current affairs magazine written by professional journalists and sold on the streets by homeless vendors was launched by Gordon Roddick, of the Body Shop fame, with partner John Bird (pictured), after they were inspired by a similar publication in New York.
The Big Issue was set up to give homeless people a chance to earn a legal income, offering an alternative to begging, while using the content to campaign on the behalf of all socially excluded people.
It was also designed to provide an example of a successful social enterprise and an alternative to conventional grant-dependent charities.
It is not part of any other media group or political party and guards its independence fiercely.
Thanks to this, its clear social benefit and a reputation for getting exciting guest editors (including Damien Hirst and Irvine Welsh) as well as exclusive celebrity stories, the magazine became a huge success - inspiring regional sister titles across the UK and eventually the rest of the world.
With weekly circulation figures topping 135,000 in the UK alone, sales of the magazine can support the Big Issue Foundation, a registered charity providing support to vendors and other homeless people.
The foundation was one of the first of its kind to look at the real issues keeping people on the streets, such as drug abuse and ill health and who were willing to listen to the people they were trying to help to come up with radical solutions.