Social Trendspotter Weekly Blog
Elevating Policy as a Priority: How Advocacy Adds Value to Your Organization & the Greater Good
I recently came across a story about anthropologist Margaret Mead. She was asked by a student – what was the first sign of civilization in ancient culture? The student (and I) expected an answer such as fishhooks, grinding stones or some other tool. Instead, she said...
Following Southwest Airlines’ Model for Taking Nonprofit Internal Communications to New Heights
One of my grandmother’s favorite sayings was: “A woman is like a tea bag – you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.” The airline industry overall has been in a lot of hot water recently – with union negotiations, safety concerns, and weather...
Charitable Giving: Key Trends from Giving USA 2024 and What They Mean for Your Nonprofit
This year, in the World Giving Index, the United States emerged as the most charitable country – with 72% of Americans reporting that they helped a stranger, 61% donated to a charity and 42% volunteered their time. But, as economic and societal shifts occur, that...
Hot Nonprofit Trends for Summer 2024
As we hit the midpoint of the year, a new trend for for-profit and nonprofit leaders is to review their strategic and operational goals and make New Half-Year’s resolutions, recommitting to old goals and resolving to achieve new ones. Summer is a great time for...
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 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 of time in our programs...
Looking a Gift Horse in the Mouth: Advice for Nonprofits on Accepting Gifts of Real Estate
Over a decade ago, I had an a-ha moment with a good friend – we were talking about an upcoming holiday and all the gift-giving that happens. We discussed the subtle difference between a present and a gift. A present is something that you want the recipient to have. A...
Help Your Nonprofit Team Take Flight with Tips from Southwest
Many of the Southwest family were saddened when Colleen Barrett, the woman behind many of Southwest’s best ideas who rose from Executive Assistant to President & COO passed away last month. Many of these ideas are captured in her book, Lead with LUV, coauthored...
Four Keys to Successful Nonprofit Strategy Execution from D-Day
Today is the 80th anniversary of D-Day – the day when more than 160,000 Allied forces landed in Normandy, France, as part of the largest air, land and sea invasion ever executed. The goal of the mission was to liberate Nazi-occupied France, and more than 9,000 Allied...
If You Can Write a Grant, You CAN Write a Nonprofit Business Plan
One of my favorite management gurus was former CEO of GE Jack Welch. On my bookshelf is my well-worn copy of Winning. I bought this book before business school, and it gave me many gems that I used there and during my time at the American Heart Association. My...
What’s in a Name? Buzzwords in the Social Sector
What’s in a name? This famous phrase from William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, speaks to an important truth. Since I started in the social sector almost three decades ago, I have noticed that we have a funny habit of throwing around important words, such as...
