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.
Bringing Impact Investing Back to Earth
We spend a lot of time as a team discussing the differences between trends and fads within the social sector. Impact investing falls in a gray area – where we still have so much to prove, yet we need it to work in order to have financial resources to solve...
3 Pieces of Wisdom from the Greek Drama
The economic situation in Greece has been in the headlines since 2010, but it reached a boiling point this summer when Greece became the first developed country to not be able to repay an IMF (International Monetary Fund) loan. Earlier this month, I...
The Dog Days of Summer 2015
We are officially in the “dog days” of summer. Interestingly, this phrase refers to the sultry days of summer and came from the Romans, who associated it with the star, Sirius. They considered Sirius to be the “dog star” because it was the brightest star in the...
Three Things You Didn’t Know About 2Gen Trends
In honor of our nation’s independence last week, the History Channel aired shows highlighting fun and little-known facts about the U.S. – for example, did you know that the Great Depression prompted the creation of the shopping cart? To cut costs, grocers stopped...
Hot Nonprofit Trends for Summer 2015
Summer is such a great time of year – the sunshine brings lighter spirits, every weekend welcomes a backyard BBQ and all sorts of fun outdoor activities abound. With Fourth of July celebrations in full swing this week, we thought we’d set a firework display of our own...
Everyone Can Be a Changemaker
Last month, I was honored to be selected by TEDxTurtleCreekWomen to share how I became a changemaker as well as what I typically share in coffee shops, classrooms and boardrooms – the why and how of becoming a changemaker. I called my TEDx presentation “Everyone can...
Top 10 Quotes for the Social Sector
Last night, David Letterman’s last show aired with its typical humor, surprise and special guests. In his honor, we wanted to share our own Top 10 List – of our favorite social sector quotes. When we started Social TrendSpotter in 2013, we wanted to co-create a blog...
The Times They Are A-Changin’: “The Mission-Driven Venture” Shares Strategies for Social Entrepreneurs
In March, a living legend of social enterprise, Jerr Boschee, wrote a piece cataloging the music that defined the social justice movement. I was honored to be asked to contribute and, not surprisingly, I picked Beyoncé’s “Run the World” and Alicia Keys’ “Girl on...
Pay For Success Gains Momentum by Connecting the Dots
Two years ago, we began reporting on Social Impact Bonds (SIBs), but lately their close relative – Pay for Success (PFS) contracts have picked up momentum. At that time, the concept seemed like a wonderfully intangible idea that might or might not be able...
