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.
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Rising Above Politics in the Trump Era
Fights on the floor of the state legislatures. Elections focused less on the issues plaguing our towns and more on dirty politics. A must-watch reality show in Washington D.C. around whom is the biggest liar. These are not scenes from the latest good vs. evil epic...
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Top Questions on Business Planning
One of my favorite cartoons is from Tom Fishburne’s “Brand Camp” – it does a great job of illustrating our inner monologue as we consider a new venture. I tell my students that successful entrepreneurship is half about skill – what you know and do – and half about...
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Step-by-Step Guide to Create a Successful Social Enterprise
Summer is an excellent time to consider new ideas. Based on research, one of the top ideas that nonprofits are considering is social enterprise (or an earned income venture). These ventures enable nonprofit (or for-profit) organizations to harness the power of the...
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If You Can Write a Grant, You CAN Write a Business Plan
Last week we wrote about the similarities between business plans and strategic plans, and how a “strategic business plan” may be the sweet spot for many nonprofits. But, one of the questions I frequently encounter at my training sessions is, “I’ve never written a...
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A Recipe for Success: How a Hybrid Strategic Business Plan Can Help Your Organization
People can be so imaginative. While many of us are content with the traditional combination of peanut butter and chocolate, chefs and food enthusiasts are combining seemingly unrelated ingredients to yield culinary genius. Take the recent trend of cronuts, a...
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4 Steps to Turn Your Nonprofit’s Volunteers into Evangelists
Researchers have recently debunked the notion that happiness is the goal of life. In an interesting twist, they have found instead that happiness is a byproduct for individuals who have a “purpose” or meaning in their lives. Many organizations in the nonprofit sector...
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Making Smart Decisions
Sometimes when you meet someone, you just click. Last year, while teaching for the Executive Nonprofit Management certificate program at Duke University, I met Amy Gearhart, a student in my class. She had recently made a career shift. After serving 30 years as a...
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A New Mash-Up for the Social Sector: Coopetition
Every social sector conference this spring will feature sessions on collective impact, collaboration and system building. These concepts signify an important shift in the social sector – one toward advancing the cause through a network mindset. But, we have also...
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Can Nonprofits Lobby? The Answer is YES!
Shortly before Congress left for Easter/Passover recess, 4,500 charitable nonprofits, including religious institutions, and foundations came together to stand against new legislation that could destroy the nonpartisan nature of charitable nonprofits called the Johnson...
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