(Illustration by Peter Grant)
AI Inspiration
SERIES | Introducing AI-Powered Nonprofits
How are vanguard nonprofit organizations using artificial intelligence (AI) to address challenges in climate, health, and education? Despite operating in disparate issue areas, AI-powered nonprofits around the world are following similar patterns of innovation. Presented in partnership with Fast Forward, an organization dedicated to scaling tech start-ups with sustainable nonprofit business models, this article series aims to help readers understand precisely how nonprofits are leveraging AI today and to inspire more innovators toward AI for humanity.
Strategic Philanthropy, Cont’d
ARTICLE | Starting With the State
ARTICLE | Strategic Philanthropy Is Alive and Well
Our Summer ’24 cover story by Mark Kramer and Steve Phillips, “Where Strategic Philanthropy Went Wrong,” set off a spirited conversation. In response, Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation leaders Jodi Nelson and Fay Twersky argue that the negative portrait of philanthropy is “unrecognizable” and defend “how philanthropists and practitioners have learned and improved over time.” Meanwhile, Tim Hanstad agrees with the cover story’s authors that “strategic philanthropy must empower people to elect the kind of representative government that can pass policies that will benefit everyone.” But he urges philanthropists to widen this lens beyond the United States, because “good governance is the greatest predictor of a society’s well-being” globally.
Learning From Failure
ARTICLE | Lessons From a Sustainable Fashion Bankruptcy
Swedish clothing recycler Renewcell launched with promise thanks to a new method for recycling textile waste. But a year after opening its first scaled facility, Renewcell declared bankruptcy, sending shockwaves throughout the fashion world. What went wrong? Company insiders share why they think there’s plenty of blame to go around—with Renewcell executives, with fiber producers, and with fashion brands who prioritize profits over sustainability.
21st-Century Democracy
SERIES | Building a Transnational Innovation Ecosystem to Support Democracy
We need local, national, and transnational solutions for defending, strengthening, and reimagining democracy. This article series, published in partnership with pro-democracy organization Keseb, shares strategies from leaders in the United States, Brazil, and South Africa on how to protect elections, combat misinformation, build diverse leadership, and expand civic power between elections.
Crisis Planning
ARTICLE | Before the Exposé Hits the Front Page
Crisis management is one of the most important and yet least discussed topics in the broader social sector, writes nonprofit leadership expert and former GLAAD CEO Joan Garry. Talking about worst-case scenarios can be uncomfortable. But nonprofits that pursue advocacy as a core strategy—that see speaking truth to power as part of their mission—often experience backlash in the form of media exposés, as GLAAD recently did. Being ready for that kind of targeting should be a central responsibility of leadership.
Read more stories by SSIR Editors.