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 encourage, to educate and – ultimately – to 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.
From Planning to Action: Action Plans Help You Get Things Done After Your Strategic Plan
One of my favorite sayings is a Japanese proverb – “Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.” As we approach Halloween, many think about being scared by vampires and ghosts. These days I’m scared by meetings without agendas and action...
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Place is the Word: Innovative Placemaking
“Place is the word.” Since it is #throwbackthursday, we thought we’d modify a phrase from the movie “Grease” and talk about a trend that we have seen on the rise over the past two years – place. It’s popping up not just at community and economic...
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Do You Get Lost in Projects? Secrets from Tech Titans
We all have projects to complete this fall – new programs to start, new internal efforts to kick off, and our never-ending to-do list to tackle. In this week’s blog, we wanted to share some cool and easy ways to successfully manage these projects....
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Are Nonprofits in the Customer Service Business?
We have all experienced bad customer service. Now with Twitter, we witness our friends’ bad customer service experiences, too. Frustrating and infuriating for the customer, bad customer service can also ruin a brand. And, unfortunately, it isn’t unique to...
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Lean Startup for Nonprofits
I was struck, but not surprised, when I heard the authors of Moneyball for Government note, “Less than $1 out of every $100 spent by government is backed by even the most basic evidence that the money is being spent wisely.” This reminds me of Albert Einstein’s quote:...
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Celebrating a Sweet New Year & Jewish Innovators
On Monday, Jews the world over celebrated Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. 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. Interestingly, honey is...
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5 Tips for Taming Email Clutter
When I grew up, we had a party line phone, and it was expensive to call people. So, you had to really think about what you wanted to say and be as concise as possible. Fast forward to today – calls, texts and emails are free. With that freedom, something has gotten...
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Self-Sufficiency: The New Norm in the Social Sector and How to Get There
As we move into Labor Day weekend, it is important to reflect on where we are in helping everyone achieve the American dream. Andrew Carnegie believed “you cannot push anyone up a ladder unless he is willing to climb himself.” But, what is that ladder and...
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More Than Manners: 3 Ways to Leverage Emotional Intelligence
One of my favorite quotes is by Maya Angelou: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” As kids, my sisters and I learned manners like not to throw tantrums or interrupt. While these rules...
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