Nonprofits
The Agenda Can’t Be About Us
The broader social policy environment needs to become more favorable to the missions of nonprofits.
The broader social policy environment needs to become more favorable to the missions of nonprofits.
Flattery, not good governance, reaps corporate directorships – especially for white males.
Many nonprofits want to expand their staff and funding base so that they may serve a broader public. Until recently, little information was available about how such organizations may do so successfully. In an audio interview with Stanford Social Innovation Review managing editor Eric Nee, William Foster shares findings from the Bridgespan Group's groundbreaking research on what it takes to be in the big leagues. He discusses types of funders to pursue, how to restructure an expanding organization, and whether going big is right for everyone.
Throughout the Energy Efficiency series, Amory Lovins, has diligently presented countless statistics and case studies to support the need for, and demonstrate the benefits of, improved energy services. In this audio lecture, he now identifies a significant number of formidable barriers to energy efficiency, and prescribes a variety of ways to overcome these barriers, including sexy marketing campaigns and a direct appeal to the bottom line.
Now, more than ever, nonprofit leaders need to know how to maximize their social impact. Center for Social Innovation researcher Heather McLeod Grant shares some of the groundbreaking research explored in her coauthored book Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits. Drawing on her extensive study of nonprofit leaders and organizations, Grant reveals that success isn't just about "nonprofit management," but about creating larger systemic change. She shares three of the six practices for making such transformation possible.
Don't assume potential minority board members can't give money.
"Once in a very rare while in history there is a fundamental pattern change. We're in one of those right now," says Bill Drayton in this audio lecture. Before our eyes the social sector is transforming to adopt the business sector's entrepreneurial architecture, where productivity and innovation are absolutely essential. Drayton explains how he sees the merging of pieces from both worlds as the way social entrepreneurs will flourish.
It's high time for the nonprofit sector to put race on the table.
A brand is bigger than a set of rules you can put down in a spiral-bound book.