The Social Sector often uses basic tools, like hammers and nails to change the world. Instead, we need power tools. Our weekly blog, Social TrendSpotter provides you with the latest trends and ideas within the social sector. It merges current thinking with the edge of innovation to inspire, to motivate and to take action so we can all ultimately create a better sector. Social TrendSpotter includes original analysis, but also highlights the latest sector-wide thinking into a user-friendly resource where social sector professionals and students alike can draw inspiration, share ideas and develop new thinking on best practices.
We love when the best “Social TrendSpotters” – you – share your experiences, observations and suggestions with us. Share your ideas here, and follow us on Facebook (@socialimpactarchitects), LinkedIn (@social-impact-architects),Twitter (@socialtrendspot) or Instagram (@socialtrendspot) for our latest posts and other insights.
America’s Workforce Strategy Has a Blind Spot: The Social Sector
We have a blindspot in how we think about the American workforce. Every nonprofit worker I interact with is exhausted, yet many people outside the social sector don’t see the warning signs because they don’t realize how much our economy depends on these organizations....
How Jewish Innovation Strengthens the Social Sector
This week, Jews the world over will celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which begins at sundown on Sept. 11. Observers of the holiday participate in a tradition of eating apples dipped in honey and wish each other not just a happy, but a sweet new year....
Are Performance Reviews Still Relevant? 8 Ways to Make Nonprofit Performance Reviews More Effective
Performance review season can feel like déjà vu: Change the dates on last year’s form and try to remember what happened over the past 12 months. But if an employee hears something for the first time during a performance review, the process has already failed. A good...
How to Write a Nonprofit Business Plan
One of my favorite cartoons is from Tom Fishburne’s “Brand Camp.” It does a great job of illustrating the inner monologue we all have when considering a new venture. I often tell my students that successful entrepreneurship is half about skill (what you know and do)...
How Nonprofits Can Compete and Collaborate Through Coopetition
Should nonprofits act more like businesses? To be sure, nonprofits can learn a great deal from business. Like any business today, we need to use data, invest in talent, understand the full cost of our work to build strong, sustainable organizations. A compelling...
30 Years, One Love Letter and a New Book
This year marks a personal milestone for me: 30 years working in the social sector. Three decades of learning from nonprofit leaders, students, board members, volunteers and communities have shaped how I think about what it takes to build organizations that last. And...
How to Spot Your Nonprofit Competition
I still remember the day I learned one of the most important lessons about competition from an unlikely source: Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy’s. One of my professors at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business told our class the legendary story. During a campus...
How Social Entrepreneurship Can Become a Movement: Six Shifts Shaping What Comes Next
Every once in a while, a conference does more than fill your notebook with new ideas. Sometimes, in rare moments of true inspiration, you can feel the energy as people and ideas bounce off one another. That is why I often quip, “Innovation happens through collision.”...
The Social Ripple Effect: How Social Change Really Happens
One of my favorite questions to ask students is: Do you believe society can really change? When I first started teaching social entrepreneurship, the answer was almost always yes. My students believed they could make a difference. They debated ideas, challenged...