When Innovation Goes Wrong
Organizations often stumble when it comes to turning innovation into impact. Here’s a guide to diagnosing and preventing several “pathologies” that underlie this failure.
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Innovative ways nonprofits can increase their reach and social impact (more)
What’s Your Exit, er, Commitment Strategy?
There are conditions under which nonprofits, even those pursuing transformative scale, will find commitment strategies—rather than exit strategies—to be the right answer for their direct service programs.
Governance: The Secret to Mission-Driven Business Success
New research reveals a cross-sector trend that sees organizations using governance to strengthen extra-financial performance.
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Efficient Philanthropy
Nancy Roob, president of the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, talks about the foundation’s True North Fund, which allows investors to put money into a pool fund that can then support multiple organizations and increase efficiency.
Wheeling in the Trojan Mice
One way to make risk-taking more palatable for social change organizations is to run small, light, nimble experiments––tests not built to win wars, but rather to quickly infiltrate new territory, attack new problems, and inform future tactics.
Upgrading a Network
Girl Scouts of the USA has overhauled everything from its federated structure to its information technology systems to the way that Girl Scouts sell their fabled cookies.
The “Better” Bet
Ariadne Labs, founded by Atul Gawande, seeks to improve outcomes by getting health-care organizations to adopt proven interventions.
Five Lessons on Accelerating and Scaling Growth Through Technology
Low-cost tech tools that work for an organization in the beginning can later get in the way of progress. A look at how organizations can successfully transition to new tools as they scale—and increase their impact as a result.
Going into Business for Wildlife Conservation
To achieve large-scale, long-term success, wildlife conservationists need to think like the private sector and invest in business innovation.
No Exit: The Case for Nonprofit Holding Companies
Applying the structure of a holding company to the nonprofit and social enterprise sectors could help both small, high-potential organizations and larger anchor organizations flourish.