Social Trendspotter Weekly Blog
Hot Nonprofit Trends for Summer 2014
School is out, graduation has come and gone, and summer has officially begun! Growing up, one of my summer traditions was to take out my school yearbook, read all the notes from friends and teachers, and reflect on the year through photos. It was also fun to look...
Book Review: Make Waves
If it is true that there is nothing permanent except change, then we need a formula to create change better. Enter Patti Johnson, CEO of PeopleResults, a change and human capital consulting firm. She has worked with clients, such as Microsoft, 7-Eleven and...
Adding to Our Repertoire: Social TrendSpotter Launches New TED-Style Videos on Trending Topics in the Social Sector
At Social TrendSpotter, we aim to share relevant content on our favorite topics and trends to achieve our mission to inspire, to encourage, to educate and – ultimately – to create a better sector. Like all organizations in the social sector, we must adapt...
Follow the U.K.’s Footsteps in Building U.S. Social Enterprise Ecosystem
One of the great advantages of having an older sibling is being able to observe his wins and losses. On some levels, England and the United States share older-younger sibling status – we are keen to enjoy a bit of a rivalry at times, yet stand together when our values...
Community Development is a Team Sport
Across the country, the Federal Reserve Banks and other stakeholders have gathered a cross section of their communities to discuss – Investing in What Works for America’s Communities. We were honored to speak (stay tuned for the podcast, Social...
Walk the Line, SEA-Style
Last week, social entrepreneurs gathered at the Social Enterprise Alliance (SEA) Summit 2014 in Nashville, Tenn., and enjoyed content-rich workshops, engaging pitches from social entrepreneurs, excellent Southern cuisine and music from some of Nashville’s...
Choose Your Adventure in the World Stage
In choose your adventure books, children take on the role of the protagonist and make decisions at critical points in the narrative that lead to different endings. Like these classic children’s books, the National Center for Arts Research at Southern Methodist...
Is Impact Investing the Social Sector’s Lottery Ticket?
As we predicted last year, impact investing (making investments into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention of generating both measurable social and environmental impact along with a financial return) has been trending as a topic of conversation at not...
The Simple Math of Volunteer Stewardship
After seven health questionnaires, nine blood tests, a physical exam, chest X-ray, electrocardiogram, five injections of medication and 11 hours of plasmapheresis, Brandi Tanaka, senior consultant at Social Impact Architects, donated what we hope will be life-saving...
Advanced Thinking on Developing a Theory of Change
Like the Camel Thorn tree that thrives in the arid climate of Namibia thanks to a deep network of roots, theory of change (ToC) may provide stability to social programs through a similar network of roots. By delving deep into an issue, ToC can...