By David Reiling, CEO of Sunrise Banks and Board Chair of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV), published by RealLeaders
I can point to two moments while attending college that put me on the path to where I am today as a social entrepreneur and business leader.
First, I started a business printing T-shirts. I made a decent amount of money from this business and even used it to complete an internship requirement for my degree.
The second moment came during a campus ministry trip to Tijuana, Mexico, where I volunteered to help build homes. That feeling of doing something good for others inspired me to think differently about my work and compensation. I received a huge emotional paycheck for my effort to build those homes.
That’s when I had an epiphany:
How could I feel this good about doing something for others in my daily life while making a good living?
What if I used the profits from my T-shirt business to help build more homes? Would that be possible?
I took the question to one of my business professors.
His immediate answer?
No.
“You need to preserve your profits for your shareholders,” he explained.
But I own the company, I thought to myself. “Can’t I choose what I want to do with my company’s earnings?” I asked.
His answer was still no. “Making money is the sole purpose of a company,” was his message.
That didn’t sit right with me and inspired me to prove him wrong. It put me on the path to one of my defining philosophies as a CEO: in business, you can do well by doing good. Ironically, it might just make your business more financially successful and make your life fuller of meaning and purpose.
Scarcity vs. Abundance Mindset
I’ve come to see that most CEOs lead their businesses with a scarcity mindset. They live in fear that everything is limited – whether it’s people, time, new opportunities or money. They have been taught that short-term profit maximization is the purpose of business. This is exactly what my university professor tried to impress on me.
When you introduce value creation other than monetary returns to shareholders (aka mission = social good, environmental sustainability, capability creation, brand awareness) into the business, that’s where the scarcity mind immediately calculates a negative cost versus an investment in a long-term benefit. The scarcity-minded CEO believes “mission” only subtracts from the business margin. (Margin – Mission = Less Profit)
But I don’t agree with that mindset. In fact, mine is focused on a state of abundance. My cup is not half empty or half full; it is refillable. I firmly believe having a strong mission-driven business multiplies both financial (margin) and mission success.
At Sunrise Banks, for example, we focus on mission and capability creation to differentiate ourselves from other financial institutions. Our mission is an asset (not recognized on our balance sheet) that drives new business to us. It is who we are and what we sell.
“When we ask ourselves why people should bank with us, we want them to choose us because we offer options that other financial institutions don’t. We offer opportunities to do good in their communities with their money. And we invite them to join us because our values align with theirs.”
Using that abundance mindset to build our mission has led to more customers, more employees, more innovation, big opportunities and…wait for it…growing profitability. That provides us the financial resources to do more good.
At Sunrise Banks, the mission isn’t just a statement; it’s an asset that drives business growth, customer loyalty and long-term success. This approach has helped the bank grow its assets substantially over time, demonstrating that mission-led strategies can produce measurable financial and social outcomes.
Read the full article here.
Originally published on 17 December 2025.
