The 2020 Nonprofit Management Institute (NMI) featured public-sector leaders, the heads of nonprofits and businesses, and academics sharing their insight into innovative social sector responses to the COVID-19 crisis. They explored topics that included: transparency between funders and grantees; how to rapidly change programs and services; managing distributed teams; implementing crisis communications; and lessons for nonprofits from the Great Recession of 2008.
To help NMI attendees make the most out of the event, SSIR's editors recapped the virtual conference and assembled a list of related articles.
Session 1: An Event or an Era? Key Tools to More Effectively Manage the COVID-19 Future
Joanna Burleson and Sarah Brayton of the Monitor Institute by Deloitte discussed how nonprofit organizations and funders can use scenario planning to help prepare for the landscape beyond the COVID-19 crisis.
In the face of COVID-19, the social sector must reckon with five new truths, says @joannaburleson: @MntrInstitute @DeloitteUS #NMI2020 #NMI pic.twitter.com/WSdmlp0okY
— Social Innovation (@SSIReview) September 22, 2020
After you've painted a "vivid future of many possible trajectories," how do you use these scenarios?
— Social Innovation (@SSIReview) September 22, 2020
— Sarah Brayton and @joannaburleson with @MntrInstitute @DeloitteUS #NMI2020 #NMI pic.twitter.com/K7B7HTi1aF
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Go Deeper:
- Making Strategic Decisions in the Context of COVID-19
- Using Scenario Planning to Surface Invisible Risks
- Transformative Scenario Planning: Working Together to Change the Future
- Leading a Global Team Through Crisis Means Focusing on Local Details
Session 2: Building Nonprofit Resiliency: How to Create a 'Playbook' for the Future
Meera Chary of The Bridgespan Group led a conversation with Anne Marie Burgoyne of Emerson Collective, Cassandra Herring of Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity, and Diana Torres of United Farm Workers Foundation about leading teams through a process of creating a "playbook" for the future that accounts for looming risks, uncertainties, and barriers.
"What are the most likely forms of risk that might stand in your way of creating impact?" asks @meerachary (@BridgespanGroup) at #SSIRinstitute, urging organizations to build resilience by taking stock and prioritizing. pic.twitter.com/hPKSFwMtLh
— Social Innovation (@SSIReview) September 22, 2020
By helping farmworkers help themselves by using new digital tools during the pandemic, Diana Tellefson Torres (@UFWF) describes how managing risks can lead to new opportunities. #SSIRinstitute pic.twitter.com/E4ZwFL8Y5Q
— Social Innovation (@SSIReview) September 22, 2020
Go Deeper:
- SSIR Guide to Resilient Leadership During the COVID-19 Crisis
- Reestablishing Philanthropic Vitality After the Emergency
- COVID-19’s Impact on Nonprofits’ Revenues, Digitization, and Mergers
- Tweet: Octavia Butler Quote
Session 3: A Seat at the Table: The Importance of Diverse Stakeholders in Rebuilding Local Economies
Kathleen Kelly Janus with the office of California Governor Gavin Newsom, Tara Lynn Gray of Fresno Black Chamber of Commerce, Don Howard of the James Irvine Foundation, and Karthick Ramakrishnan of the Center for Innovation, UC Riverside, discussed efforts by government, foundations, and others in inland California to support nonprofits who represent diverse stakeholders, increasing those organizations' participation in economic planning, and how to replicate the projects elsewhere in the United States.
"The philanthropic community has a huge opportunity to make a difference by investing in Black-led, Black-run organizations that are close to the problem." —Tara Lynn Gray of Fresno Black Chamber of Commerce
"People, when they invest, they don't invest in problems. They invest in solutions and the people who are going to make it happen." —@karthickr (@CSIUCR) #SSIRinstitute pic.twitter.com/4MXuF4nXgC
— Social Innovation (@SSIReview) September 22, 2020
Go Deeper:
Session 4: Getting Connected: How Chinese Nonprofits Are Effectively Leveraging Social Media in the COVID-19 Pandemic
Using the example of 200 Chinese nonprofits collaborating on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic, Wei Luo and Wenjuan Harriet Zheng of Stanford PACS explored how nonprofit organizations elsewhere could realize the full potential of social media platforms.
The pandemic has "flipped the pyramid" of the relationship between nonprofits and social media as action becomes the primary focus, say Wei Luo and Wenjuan Zheng of @StanfordPACS. #SSIRinstitute pic.twitter.com/0tM5bCpreZ
— Social Innovation (@SSIReview) September 22, 2020
Go Deeper:
Session 5: Bringing Design Thinking to Place-Based Networks During the Pandemic: A Human-Centered, Systems-Minded, Strategically-Aligned, and Equity-Grounded Approach for Social Sector Leaders
Nadia Roumani of the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University (the d.school) led a discussion with Roman Sanchez of the City of El Paso and Heather Tsavaris, principal consultant for Human:Kind at the Columbus Foundation, about their recent experiences with place-based, network-oriented programs.
.@NadiaRoumani (@stanforddschool) describes three ways to approach human-centered design at #SSIRinstitute. "How is power shared? Who's making the decisions?" she asks. pic.twitter.com/lFKdALE11M
— Social Innovation (@SSIReview) September 22, 2020
"It really became about: Let's walk this journey together and let's get to some ideas that are really implementable." — @HeatherT_ (@colsfoundation) describes using human-centered design in her work with communities in Ohio. #SSIRinstitute pic.twitter.com/berf7MP3P7
— Social Innovation (@SSIReview) September 22, 2020
Go Deeper:
Session 6: Philanthropy in a Crisis: Rhetoric or Real Change?
Phil Buchanan of the Center for Effective Philanthropy, Hilary Pennington of the Ford Foundation, and Anthony Richardson of the Nord Family Foundation discussed how foundations have responded to the COVID-19 crisis.
"I have not seen such rapid collective action in my 13 years of philanthropy." — Hilary Pennington describes the response to Ford Foundation’s call for funders to be more flexible and quick in response to COVID-19.
The impact of COVID-19: 81% of nonprofits will reduce programs, 80% are using reserves, 62% are reducing compensation & 49% were furloughing employees. — @philxbuchanan at #SSIRinstitute. For another take on the new reality, see this from @DavidLaPiana: https://t.co/BWkmVrjfJj
— Social Innovation (@SSIReview) September 23, 2020
As we emerge from the COVID-19 crisis, social change leaders must think about traumatized communities and embrace big narratives to go beyond the data, says Anthony Richardson of the Nord Family Foundation at #SSIRinstitute. More on shaping narratives: https://t.co/RMFvjT5bHn
— Social Innovation (@SSIReview) September 23, 2020
Go Deeper:
- How Foundations Can Make Progress on Long-Term Social Change Amid the COVID-19 Crisis
- A Better World Ahead Means Shaping Emerging Narratives Now
Session 7: Radically Adapting to a New World: How to Make the Most Impact during Ever-Changing and Ever-Challenging Times
Jim Bildner of the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation talked with Clementine Jacoby of Recidiviz and Wawira Njiru of Food for Education about how their organizations made strategic pivots at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It was pretty clear early on, COVID was going to be really bad for extremely overcrowded prisons in the US." —Clementine Jacoby at #SSIRinstitute describes how @RecidivizOrg scaled from working with 5 to 34 states. More on reforming the US justice system: https://t.co/MgHNo8waZr
— Social Innovation (@SSIReview) September 23, 2020
As COVID-19 took hold in Africa, @Food4education reconfigured its meals for children & distribution as schools closed, collecting more data about families to make finding them easier, says @wawiranjiru at #SSIRinstitute. Another story of adaptation: https://t.co/0S3jvJ069y
— Social Innovation (@SSIReview) September 23, 2020
Go Deeper
Session 8: Impact Beyond Organizational Boundaries: How Collaboration Can Help Nonprofits Become More Sustainable and Effective
Heather McLeod Grant of Open Impact, Fred Brown of The Forbes Funds, Pittsburgh, Jessica Cavagnero of New York Mergers and Collaboration Fund and SeaChange Capital Partners, David Garza of Henry Street Settlement, and Jennifer Price-Letscher of the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation discussed building nonprofit capacity for sustained collaboration.
Partnerships stem from "godzilla moments" when there’s a community need or benefit or risk that no one can go through alone. — David Garza of Henry Street Settlement
“We asked how we could leverage more than money.” —@FredBrownPgh (@TheForbesFunds) describes at #SSIRinstitute how responding to COVID-19 required transformation instead of transactional thinking for supporting at-risk communities in Pittsburgh.
— Social Innovation (@SSIReview) September 23, 2020
See also: https://t.co/vy73xxk3hn
Go Deeper:
Session 9: Humanizing the Workplace for Ourselves and Our Teams, Part 1: Self-Awareness
Leah Weiss of the Stanford Graduate School of Business discussed the importance of building personal and organizational resilience in these tumultuous times.
"We are in a time when burnout is massive and on the rise. The cost of burnout is similar to cancer—in the hundreds of billions of dollars." —@leahweissphd (@StanfordGSB) discusses compassionate leadership, self-awareness, and managing stress amid the pandemic. #SSIRinstitute pic.twitter.com/8HfTPkKeLD
— Social Innovation (@SSIReview) September 23, 2020
Go Deeper:
Session 10: No Time Like the Present: Reimagining Capitalism
In this keynote presentation, Mark Kramer of FSG spoke with Rebecca Henderson of Harvard University about her book, Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire.
“Most businesses have strong incentives to subvert the political process to benefit their business but I say we need to raise hell ... political corruption is death to a country’s dynamism.” —@RebeccaReCap in today's #SSIRinstitute keynote. See also: https://t.co/lWXEQuFyRq
— Social Innovation (@SSIReview) September 23, 2020
“When a firm is trying to raise its diversity, what's the first thing they do? They get on the phone with an NGO … NGOs are brilliant at pushing" for change. —Rebecca Henderson of Harvard University, author of Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire
Go Deeper:
- Book Review: Big Structural Change (Open to SSIR subscribers)
- Making a Better Business Case for ESG
- Democracy and Prosperity Require Uncorrupted Governments
- The Rise of Gender Capitalism
- Tweet: Rebecca Henderson on Capitalism
Session 11: Discussing What It Means to Be an American
Deval Patrick, founder of TogetherFUND PAC and the former governor of Massachusetts, and Don Gips, CEO of the Skoll Foundation, discussed civil society and cultural values in this keynote panel.
"We are beginning to understand that freedom is not just a synonym for selfishness—that a free society means you take self-responsibility for, and show some regard for, the freedom of others." @DevalPatrick (@TogetherFundPAC) at #SSIRinstitute. Read more: https://t.co/zhG1wGjhcr
— Social Innovation (@SSIReview) September 24, 2020
"What makes America great is ... creating equality, opportunity, and fair play ... There is a place and has to be a place for the marginalized." — @DevalPatrick (@TogetherFundPAC) at #SSIRinstitute. On philanthropy in communities affected by injustice: https://t.co/HxSfDEdn6g
— Social Innovation (@SSIReview) September 24, 2020
Go Deeper:
- SSIR Guide to Voting, Civic Engagement, and Repairing Democracy
- Cultivating Change Amidst Collapse
- Equitable Big Bets for Marginalized Communities
- Realizing Democracy Demands Addressing Deeper Structural Roots of Failure and Possibility of Shared Power
- Looking to Civil Society for the Values That Shape a Culture
- Tweet: Deval Patrick on Taxes
Session 12: All Together Now: Orchestrated Collective Action in Response to COVID-19
Johanna Mair, academic editor at SSIR and professor at the Hertie School, led a discussion on strategically orchestrating social innovation in times of crisis with Holke Brammer of ProjectTogether, Thomas Gegenhuber of Leuphana University Lüneburg, Christina Lang of 4Germany, and Inger Paus of Vodafone Institute for Society and Communications.
“Hackathons are the beginning, not the end, of the social innovation journey." — Thomas Gegenhuber of Leuphana University Lüneburg
The @WirVsVirus hackathon went beyond tech people, says @johannamair (@StanfordPACS) at #SSIRinstitute, calling it "an experiment that triggered the civic immune system of Germany." Read a related article on how companies can get involved: https://t.co/E9DCS9qYFJ
— Social Innovation (@SSIReview) September 24, 2020
Go Deeper
- Countering Coronavirus With Open Social Innovation
- Building Social Sector Capacity Through a Day of Skilled Service
Session 13: Humanizing the Workplace for Ourselves and Our Teams, Part 2: Community
Leah Weiss of the Stanford Graduate School of Business discussed the connections between well-being, compassion, and community during a crisis.
"As leaders of the social impact sector, you need to be attentive to culture, because culture is going to inform the behavior of the people operating in your organization." —@leahweissphd at #SSIRinstitute. pic.twitter.com/0qJqvU8fav
— Social Innovation (@SSIReview) September 24, 2020
Go Deeper:
Session 14: Making Use of the Window COVID-19 Opened on Racial Justice
In this panel, Autumn McDonald of New America CA, Don Chen of the Surdna Foundation, Rodney Foxworth of Common Future, Angela Hanks of Groundwork Collaborative, and Jamie Merisotis of Lumina Foundation explored why tackling systemic racism is a critical element of a much-needed, re-imagined social contract.
"We are the sector of the do-gooders. There is an opportunity for us to think about what it looks like ... to influence institutions in a meaningful way." — Autumn McDonald of New America CA
Taking on systemic challenges means looking past individual cases: We have "to address it in our legal systems, in our cultural norms and practices, and in our communities." —@donchennyc (@Surdna_Fndn) at #SSIRinstitute. Read more on system leadership: https://t.co/k9vZL884qN
— Social Innovation (@SSIReview) September 24, 2020
"There are some beginnings of a conversation about what it means to center racial justice in all our work, but the work of that is a practice, not a one-off action." —@AngelaHanks (@Groundwork) at #SSIRinstitute. Read about keeping equity front & center: https://t.co/kcfbTBolFY
— Social Innovation (@SSIReview) September 24, 2020
Go Deeper:
- Risks for the Future We Want
- Building an Inclusive Economy by Supporting Entrepreneurs of Color
- Fighting COVID-19’s Disproportionate Impact on Black Communities With More Precise Data
- Embracing an Equity Lens in the Organization and Community
- The Dawn of Responsible Finance (Open to SSIR subscribers)
Sessions 15: Building Indigenous Power: Creating Change
In this closing keynote, Nick Tilsen of NDN Collective and Edgar Villanueva of the Schott Foundation discussed how NDN is creating new, Indigenous-led structures to dismantle white supremacy and systemic racism in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors.
“We have to move from a place of allies to a place of being accomplices. And then we have to move from accomplices to being relatives.” — Nick Tilsen of NDN Collective
“Movements are made of people & nonprofits are only tools for radical change. It’s the human beings that actually create the change. I hope that one day we don’t have to have the NDN collective.” —@NickTilsen (@ndncollective) at #SSIRinstitute. Read more: https://t.co/CtSnj74d0J
— Social Innovation (@SSIReview) September 24, 2020
Go Deeper:
- Defend, Develop, Decolonize (open to SSIR subscribers)
- Building Movements, Not Organizations
- Overcoming the Racial Bias in Philanthropic Funding
- Tweet: Nick Tilsen on Scaling
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