Social Trendspotter Weekly Blog
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Travel is one of my passions. I love everything about it – planning the trip, immersing myself in a different culture, and sharing my adventures with friends and readers. But, these days preparing for a trip just seems harder. For example, I am planning a trip to...
The Socio-Ecological Model Makes Large-scale Social Change Possible
The latest report released this week from Cause and Social Influence, "Influencing Young America to Act", reveals a number of interesting insights on major social issues and how Gen Z and millennials view them. One insight in particular caught my eye: most young...
How a System Change Mindset Can Improve Nonprofit Collaboration and Impact
Do you ever feel like a mouse in a maze looking for the ever-elusive cheese? For the social sector, the cheese is money or influence and, with that money and influence, comes enhanced relevancy to our community and increased impact to our various stakeholders....
The Do’s and Don’ts of Nonprofit Crowdfunding
In August, I watched in amazement as 12 crowdfunding campaigns for the Afghan people went viral across Facebook and Twitter. One campaign raised more than $5M in 24 hours – its original goal was just $550,000. These groups transformed interest in their mission into...
Celebrating Social Entrepreneurship, Ecosystem Building and Advocacy from Jewish Innovators
Last week, 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 mentioned 60 times...
Top Questions on Nonprofit 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...
Vision vs. Mission: How to Hit the Bullseye of a Perfect Combination
Since everyone is heading back to school, we thought we’d start this blog out with a POP QUIZ! The sentences below are a mix of vision statements and mission statements. Can you tell which is which? Smithville is a vibrant, thriving and self-sustaining community....
Tips for Better Nonprofit Project Management from Tech Leaders
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. Self-driving cars...
How to Make Culture a Priority in Your Social Sector Work
Have you ever been to a coalition or staff meeting where a newcomer asked a pointed question to the leader of the group, and everyone around the newcomer cringed while s/he was oblivious to the battle just instigated? Being an outsider or a newcomer to a group can be...
5 Keys to Success for Employee Engagement in Nonprofits
COVID-19 taught us many lessons – one of the most powerful for me was about the importance of organizational culture and employee engagement. Based on our research, we have found a direct correlation between those nonprofits that had a strong internal culture and...
