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.
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Why Bottom-Up Program Design Is the Future
In 1997, on my first day as a program developer at Phoenix House, a nationwide evidence-based substance abuse treatment program, I started to learn bottom-up program design. And, to ensure I really understood the journey of those we served, I spent a lot...
Why Employee Ownership Will Help Nonprofits Survive a Turbulent Economy
In my “entrepreneurial culture” workshops at Duke and other places across the country, we always talk about one key concept – employee ownership. If you want your nonprofit to go to the next level, employee ownership is key to unlocking this success. Ownership doesn’t...
Social TrendSpotter’s Summer Superlatives 2020
Is it really July? Somehow 2020 has simultaneously moved fast, but also very slow. It is a strange paradox of living during a pandemic – every day is never-ending, yet the days fly by. In fact, there is a study of this phenomenon – chronemics or the study of the role...
Key Takeaways & Trends from Giving USA 2020 Results
Americans are very generous – in fact, more Americans give to charity than vote. In the first six months of 2020, despite more than half of the U.S. workforce experiencing unemployment or reduced income due to COVID-19, Americans have stepped up to support important...
3 Steps to Start Your Nonprofit’s Advocacy Journey
There are many reasons to start advocating now for the issues that are important to you and your organization. Whether you are energized to ensure nonprofits and social entrepreneurs get access to small business/Main Street loans; help clients and students...
Do’s and Don’ts of Remote Leadership
If remote work is the future of work, how do you stack up? I have been working with a virtual team since I founded Social Impact Architects 11 years ago. It isn’t easy, but like anything new, it can be rewarding – both for leaders and employees – if you have the...
7 Actions Nonprofits Can Take to Be Anti-Racist Organizations
As #BlackOutTuesday came and went, I saw post after post from companies, individuals and celebrities with words of support for the Black Lives Matter movement. But, something was missing from these well-meaning, but passive sentiments. Then, I saw a post by Anne...
The Art & Science of Donor Engagement (with an added bonus: templates!)
Struggling with the right approach to communicate and connect to donors right now? It is tough to strike the right balance. In all things, we are playing the long game, but the pandemic makes donor communications even more challenging. Face-to-face interactions, which...
Changemaker Top 10 Playlist
My storytelling medium is words, but I have always been inspired by music. Music is a language universally shared. In fact, the human brain can distinguish music from all other noise. Research has proven that it has an impact on human health and performance, including...