As we hit the midpoint of the year, a new trend for for-profit and nonprofit leaders is to review their strategic and operational goals and make New Half-Year’s resolutions, recommitting to old goals and resolving to achieve new ones. Summer is a great time for individual and collective retreats, reflection and recalibration.
As we officially enter the summer months, we hope you have time to take in the beauty of summer and catch up on your reading and reflections. To that end, we want to share our Social TrendSpotters’ favorite posts on hot nonprofit trends.
Hottest Topic:
Where Is Your Organization in the Nonprofit Lifecycle?
With strategic planning kicking back into full gear post-COVID, every nonprofit is thinking about a new strategic plan or refreshing their existing plan. This lifecycle blog – and our associated management exercise within – is a fan favorite for a quick recalibration.
Most Popular Blog Post:
Tie between Behavioral Economics Meets the Social Sector & Boost Your Nonprofit Donor Engagement with the 5 Love Languages
As we plan blog posts each year (we typically plan 6 months in advance), we love including a variety of both right brain (the analytical side) and left brain (the emotional side) posts. And it is clear our readers do as well!
Most Popular Guest Blog Post:
Looking a Gift Horse in the Mouth: Advice for Nonprofits Accepting Gifts of Real Estate
This blog post – by nonprofit real estate expert Eliza Solender – provides powerful insights into accepting gifts of real estate and serves a great reminder to update your gift policy this summer to ensure all your gifts have the right ROI for your organization.
Best Blog Post for Your Summer Beach Reading:
2024 Nonprofit Trends: Building Your Dream Team
With the Summer Olympics just around the corner, it is a great opportunity to emphasize teamwork as a cultural norm. It is easy to say, but by watching the Olympics you see that teamwork is “a deliberate choice by all parties involved to support a unified and collective pursuit of a common goal.” Go USA!
Most Likely to Succeed – #WayBackWeekend Blog Post:
How to Land the Big Fish: Try a Nonprofit Prospectus
The nonprofit prospectus is a game-changer that offers a new perspective on how nonprofits can drive investment in programs and organizations. It is not only a great tool for storytelling, but also helps us shift from a donor model to an investor model. And the good news is that if you can write a grant, you can easily write a prospectus with our step-by-step guide in this blog post.
Favorite TrendSpotter(s):
In 2023, we worked with Communities Foundation of Texas to develop and teach curriculum for a new Social Entrepreneurship Certificate with 65 newly minted social entrepreneurs. Each one of them has actively engaged in finding and sharing trends! I cannot wait to see all they do to change the world. We look forward to new cohorts in 2024-25!
Favorite Quote:
“You know, it’s really not rocket science. If your people feel good about what they’re doing, they feel that they are part of a cause. They feel that their individual contributions are important in terms of Teamwork. Then they feel better about their everyday work environment, and if they do, they tend to be warmer, more smiley, more caring.” – Colleen Barrett
Southwest is an iconic brand – in large part due to Colleen and her LUV for Southwest’s “crew.” This post plays tribute to her dedication to hiring and supporting employees throughout their career at Southwest and gives helpful hints on inspiring loyalty.
Favorite Quote Pic:
Q&A on Successful Nonprofit Collaboration
Collaboration is a go-to strategy for the social sector in the 21st century, but as you learn in this fan favorite, successful collaborations require intentional practices to keep them healthy and producing dividends for the organization and the community.
Most Talked About Video:
Navigating Nonprofit Megatrends: Strategies for a Shifting Landscape
Our TrendSpotters loved this blog and, in particular, the connection to “surfing” in the social sector. It does feel like the waves of change are coming faster, and it is important to understand and respond to the changes around us. This blog post and video showcase some of the biggest waves we are navigating as a nonprofit family.
Favorite Reader Comment:
How Are Nonprofit Business Plan Different From Strategic Plans?
“A very useful article! The suggestion of having a hybrid of a strategic plan and business plan is great. Thank you for this article, Suzanne.” – Alfred Njau
It is our honor to deliver elevated and uplifting content to your inbox every Thursday that helps you delve deeper into the hottest topics in the social sector. If you like our work, let us know and help us spread the word by forwarding this newsletter to your colleagues and follow us on social media. We curate trends just for you every day on Facebook, LinkedIn, X and Instagram and post a lot of great videos on Vimeo, YouTube and our webinar page. We also hope you take some time to enjoy the ease of summer and recharge for the remainder of the year.
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