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.
For-Profit and Nonprofit Social Enterprises Should Focus on Impact, not Labels
I love Banksy and his rogue artwork, such as “I Want Change” (pictured here). Like the best provocateurs, he gets us to think and opens our minds to a different point of view. In the social sector, we often have our own perspective, shaped by experience and bias, on...
4 Trends from the Aspen Ideas Festival to Spark Social Change
In the past 50 years, we have made real progress on many social issues because of people like you – nonprofit managers, social entrepreneurs, educators and students – sparking interest in issues impacting the world around them. In his speech at the 2016...
Top 5 Takeaways from Aspen Ideas Festival: Spotlight Health
When I embarked on my trip to Colorado for the Aspen Ideas Festival this week, I must admit I was in a bit of a social funk. The urgency of issues, such as Zika, gun violence, homelessness and early childhood education, were weighing heavily on me....
Top 5 Traits of Successful Social Enterprises
Social enterprise has risen in popularity in the past decade. More social entrepreneurs – whether they are nonprofits or for-profits – are pursuing the model and a double bottom line. But, just like traditional for-profit businesses, they are not assured success....
Being a “Bridge Out of Poverty” for Our Employees and Community
Last week, we revisited the game-changing model presented in Bridges Out of Poverty. The model suggests professionals and communities can help people in poverty only by first understanding their mental state and systematically addressing the challenges...
Building Social Enterprises
Originally published by The North Texan - Careers with a Cause, March 7, 2016 As a student attending UNT's Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, Suzanne Smith ('94 TAMS) felt like she had found her place. "I was around people who were a lot like me -- people who...
Do Competitions Help or Hinder Social Enterprises?
Competitions are all the rage in the social enterprise world. From New York to San Francisco, organizations seeking to nurture emerging social entrepreneurs have decided to go all in on the pitch session, offering the winners start-up funds and technical assistance....
The Woman in the Arena
One of the scariest moments of my life was the first day of business school. I spent more than a decade in the nonprofit sector and decided to go back to school full-time to get my MBA at Duke University. Although I had had a series of successes for...
The Rise of the Whole Child
A few years ago, I was invited to attend and participate in the Aspen Ideas Festival. The festival, which is being held online this year, brings together thought leaders from around the globe to engage in deep and inquisitive discussion of the issues that...
