Social Trendspotter Weekly Blog
How to Spot Your Nonprofit Competition
I still remember the day I learned one of the most important lessons about competition from an unlikely source: Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy’s. One of my professors at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business told our class the legendary story. During a campus...
How Social Entrepreneurship Can Become a Movement: Six Shifts Shaping What Comes Next
Every once in a while, a conference does more than fill your notebook with new ideas. Sometimes, in rare moments of true inspiration, you can feel the energy as people and ideas bounce off one another. That is why I often quip, “Innovation happens through collision.”...
The Social Ripple Effect: How Social Change Really Happens
One of my favorite questions to ask students is: Do you believe society can really change? When I first started teaching social entrepreneurship, the answer was almost always yes. My students believed they could make a difference. They debated ideas, challenged...
Hot Nonprofit Trends for Summer 2026
This summer, the World Cup reminded us that halftime is about more than taking a break. It is the moment when teams step away from the action, study the field and ask important questions: What is working? Where are we losing ground? What needs to change before we head...
Where Everybody Knows Your Name: Why Belonging May Be the Next Frontier in Community Design
Long before loneliness became a public health concern, the television show “Cheers” reminded us of something timeless. At its heart, it was never really about a neighborhood bar. It was about having a place where people recognized you, welcomed you and noticed when...
An Emerging Trend in Nonprofit Leadership: Professional Interim Leadership
One of the greatest joys of my work is traveling across the country to speak at conferences and to learn alongside nonprofit leaders tackling some of our sector's biggest challenges. I always come home with new ideas worth exploring. One topic that recently caught my...
Giving USA 2026: Winning Donors Through Head, Heart and Hands
As Americans celebrate Independence Day and our nation’s 250th birthday this weekend, I’ve been reflecting on one of the qualities that has always made our country unique. Nearly 200 years ago, French political thinker Alexis de Tocqueville traveled across the United...
From Strategic Planning to Action: How Nonprofits Turn Vision Into Execution
This spring, we celebrated NASA’s Artemis II mission, and the return of humans traveling around the moon. Watching the capsule land safely down back on Earth reminded of something important: NASA did not reach this point through vision alone. The mission succeeded...
How Nonprofits Can Get Ahead of Economic Uncertainty
One of the hardest parts of nonprofit leadership is making decisions without having all the information. Should we hire now or wait? Should we launch the new program or build reserves? Should we invest in technology or hold onto cash? Leaders rarely get certainty...
Avoiding Analysis Paralysis: Market Research in the Age of AI
I love to travel. It’s not just about the trip itself. I also love planning the trip. Give me a destination, a cup of tea and a few hours to research, and I am a happy camper. Right now, I am digging into a trip to Scotland next year. A few years ago, I wrote a blog...
