Could a tutoring company become more profitable by offering free services? I believe so. And I’m not the only one who believes that deep purpose can not only be a force for good but also increase profits.

Kaplan is a giant in the education industry, earning over $1.5 billion in 2017 (Graham Holdings Company, 2018). As such, it is uniquely positioned to make a huge impact on improving individual education within the US. If I were the CEO, the innovation I would bring to disrupt the status quo is a model that includes free tutoring for those who need it. Doing so would not only create a huge movement toward equity in educational resources but, I believe, would actually increase profits for the education giant.

The recent college admissions scandal has highlighted, for what feels like the millionth time, that we have different systems at work within the US: one for the wealthy, and one for everyone else. One could also say that our systems are divided along racial lines. Evidence of dual systems is all around us in supposedly “equal” fields such as criminal justice, careers, and education. If we can tackle the inequities of education in America, we can create a positive impact on equity in all other facets of society because education can help individuals to access more social capital and resources.

While the public education system also needs dramatic changes, academic support outside of school is particularly empowered to equalize because it is not funded by the government or tied to property taxes. For this reason, a company such as Kaplan can create huge waves in educational equity and make enough of a meaningful impact to disrupt the status quo.

We have seen testing companies like ETS move toward creating more equitable materials, such as joining with Khan Academy to provide free materials. If I were the CEO of Kaplan, I would move them in this same direction by creating a model that includes free tutoring. While such a move may sound naive, I am not the only one who believes that guiding a company with purpose can also drive profits. In his recent letter to his CEOs (as published in the New York Times), BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, who manages the largest money-management firm in the world, advised, “Purpose is not the sole pursuit of profits but the animating force for achieving them.” He goes on to advise that companies driven by a purpose attract customers and grow an internal focus that drives profits (BlackRock). With more and more talk of the value of “boundary spanners” who can bring together the needs of two industries to accelerate profit (The Wharton School), a move for Kaplan into offering free tutoring makes not only ethical but financial sense.

In short, the model I would propose is one in which Kaplan can still offer all the for-pay education services it offers now. However, it would also introduce a track in which students who could not afford tutoring could earn access to Kaplan courses by providing tutoring to younger students for free. Inequity of tutoring resources and educational supplements is a huge cause of overall inequality in education across socioeconomic lines, and early access to academic intervention can help change a student’s entire educational trajectory. Providing this kind of free tutoring to students would allows the youngest students to receive completely free resources and the tutors to gain service hours while being paid in access to Kaplan courses that they couldn’t otherwise afford to purchase, which is extremely low-cost for Kaplan while creating a great benefit for those students. But in addition to the direct benefits to a potentially huge number of students, and having minimal cost to the organization, Kaplan can also increase profits through this model.

By making this change, Kaplan would gain respect as a moral leader in education, which creates brand loyalty and helps paying customers feel positive about working with the company. Additionally, the opportunity to earn service hours could attract students who would like to serve as tutors and who are able to afford private tutoring services, who might choose to purchase these services from Kaplan. By moving into a space as part of a supporter of educational equity and bigger goals, they will gain brand recognition and additional paying customers. By providing free resources, Kaplan may also be able to operate some services within schools and create a deeper market presence. As more and more courses and services move online and utilize adaptive technology, providing access will have an even smaller cost over time, even as the benefits become more personalized and accessible.

There is room to be profitable and to provide a push for equity; in fact, in doing so, I believe Kaplan could become the market leader that parents and students trust with their educational goals. People feel good when they are a part of something good, and as the CEO of Kaplan, I would suggest being at the forefront of tackling inequity in education. The first tutoring organization that does so, big or small, will see huge growth while being a force for good on both an individual level, for each student they serve, and on a national scale. And while celebrities may still be able to buy their children’s access to the ivy league, a move such as this will help those without the funds for tutoring to have an avenue to take their educational success into their own hands.