As a strategist, I’m often asked by colleagues for my ideas and predictions about “the next big thing.” When I was younger I answered this less from expertise than from an internalized obligation to prove my value. Yet age has taught me I’m not an oracle: for one, I definitely did not see Covid-19 coming!
Revenue matters—not only for private sector companies, but in the nonprofit sector too. This is why your organization is probably gearing up for its annual Giving Tuesday push as you read this. With luck, your marketing and fundraising teams already have a clean and segmented list of active and known audiences, and will be deploying
As organizations face big questions about whether and how to return to physical offices as the pandemic subsides, the symbolism of the “water cooler” has captured executives’ attention like never before. (Honestly, the last time I thought this much about a water cooler was during my high school football practices in August). The water cooler,
It’s hard for any organization to thrive in complete obscurity. Whether you’re working to end childhood hunger or working to change policies in your city, your impact and influence will be limited at best—or nonexistent at worst—without building awareness and mindshare among the people who volunteer, give, and advocate for your mission. Fortunately professionals don’t
Nonprofit organizations are being relied on to solve increasingly complex social problems, while at the same time maximizing their limited resources. As anyone in our sector knows, this is a tall order. To remain sustainable and thrive in changing times, nonprofits can benefit immensely by embracing creativity and innovation. We need to bring imagination back
As 2020 draws to a close, the nonprofit sector continues to face economic and social challenges—ones that won’t immediately recede when the clock strikes midnight on our tumultuous year. The need for innovative solutions persists. And there’s no better time than the turning of a calendar year to think creatively and strategically about how our
The need for digital transformation in the mission-driven sector is not new. Yet with the onslaught of changes caused by the pandemic, it heartens me that digital transformation is finally being recognized as an operational imperative by nonprofit executives. Any talk on this topic centers around the idea of “integration.” What this means is that
In the course of my job I have the luck of talking extensively with communications and fundraising experts about nonprofit technology and digital transformation. Even before the global pandemic, this meant I heard lots of chatter about “change fatigue”—the constant upheaval that folks in our sector experience in adapting to ever-changing systems. At one point
“Zoom fatigue” is now a trending topic—just as a culture of endless work meetings was trending before the pandemic. I sympathize and relate, and appreciate the studies about which parts of the online meeting experience are wearing us out. Who knew staring at ourselves for so long would have such a draining effect—Adonis would be
In change management theory, there are critical moments when resistance to change is no longer an option due to external pressures that can’t continue to be mitigated or brushed aside. Coronavirus gives us exactly such a moment. We didn’t choose it. But we can make the most of this opportunity to start deliberately transitioning away