Past Events

Nonprofit Management Institute 2021

Over the past year and a half, we and our organizations have dealt with a seemingly unending series of crises: a global health pandemic, personal loss and isolation, a long-delayed reckoning with racism, an economic downturn that hit the poor and marginalized particularly hard, and attacks on the fabric of democracy.

But we’re finally seeing glimmers of hope. Vaccinations are taking place in many parts of the world, with plans to roll-out more to other countries and regions. Actions are being taken to address systemic racial injustices in the United States and other countries. Ideas and policies that challenge neoliberal capitalism are getting real consideration from governments and businesses. After spending more than a year virtually holding our collective breath, many people are finally starting to think about returning to some sense of normal.

But as social innovation leaders we must aspire to go beyond a return to “normal.” The challenge we now face is how to build better systems and solutions than before. How do we create systems – for ourselves, our organizations, our constituents, and our communities – that are healthier, more equitable, and more sustainable than those we had?

As we begin the work together of creating a better tomorrow, we’ll address health and well-being from a personal, organizational, and societal perspective, including:

• The connection between inner well-being and social change
• How to create equity, dignity, justice, and joy in our sector and our society
• The vital role of funders in supporting organizational well-being
• Effective communication to overcome polarization and build connection and collaboration
• The power of multi-generational teams in the social sector
• Creating public policies that support healthy communities

…and others.

This year’s NMI will leverage our shared experience and knowledge, as we learn together in workshops, presentations, and panel discussions from our speakers and from one another. We encourage you to be a part of the discussions taking place online September 21, 22, and 23, as we begin charting our collective path to a healthier future.


Like many of you in the sector, we at SSIR are adapting our approaches and operations in response to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In that spirit, we are pleased to announce that, this year's annual Nonprofit Management Institute will be an entirely online convening.

Although virtual experiences are radically different from those presented in-person, we are committed to delivering a program that is just as informative, insightful, and engaging as that of any prior NMI. Over the next several weeks, we will be busy confirming our speakers and sessions, and developing other elements – including ways to network with your fellow social innovators – in order to provide you with an experience on par with what you have come to expect from SSIR convenings.

Join Stanford Social Innovation Review for this year's annual Nonprofit Management Institute, ”Building a Healthier Future: Creating Personal, Organizational and Societal Well-being.”

Frontiers of Social Innovation 2021

During the first two decades of the 21st century, society has experienced major technological, political, and economic changes, resulting in a significant redistribution of people, power, and resources across the globe. 

Climate change, conflict, and economic trends are causing hundreds of millions of people to migrate within and across nations. Nations are rapidly urbanizing, redistributing populations and leaving most rural areas further behind. And dramatic demographic changes within countries are contributing to social upheaval. 

Power—political, personal, and social—is also being redistributed. The Internet has caused significant changes in whose voices are heard and what organizations wield power. Social movements such as Black Lives Matter, Yellow Vests, Me Too, and the Umbrella Movement are shaking the foundations of power. 

A handful of nations, companies, and individuals are controlling a growing share of the world’s wealth, capital, and environmental assets. This redistribution of resources is leading to a growing chasm between the rich and the poor, and calls for significant changes in the way resources are allocated and controlled. 

As dramatic as these changes have been, it is all but certain that the redistribution wave will continue, or possibly even accelerate, in the coming decades. 

If that is the case, how do we as social innovation leaders respond? What can we learn from our experiences to create a more just, sustainable, and equal world, and how can we better prepare for the changes to come. 

• What role can civil society organizations play in preventing massive refugee migrations?  

• Are social impact bonds and other outcome-based funding approaches achieving their goals?

• Are cities increasingly the cradle of social innovation?

• What responsibilities do foundations and large funders have to respond to community demands for decolonizing wealth and power?

• Can the expertise of those without computer science backgrounds be successfully integrated into the development of AI to produce more ethical and just tools?

• If climate change is the defining issue of our time, how should we all change our work?

Data on Purpose 2021 “Democracy, Civil Society, and Digital Technology”

Data on Purpose 2021: “Democracy, Civil Society, and Digital Technology”

Digital technology and data shape both organizational operations and individual interactions, not only in our personal lives, but more and more in civil society, where it is increasingly used by nonprofit organizations and social movements to coordinate action, empower constituencies, elevate issues, and mobilize support.

But the same mechanisms can just as easily operate to undermine democracy and civil society—for example when social media and targeted messaging is used to disinform and foment polarization. Digital engagement has its own technical, ethical, and security limitations, and its widespread use has tested our social and political structures.

What are the trends and technologies heightening concerns over the use of data and digital tools? How are different actors – movement builders, platforms, elected officials – working to improve upon or leverage these tools and processes to be better applied for the benefit of all? What steps are being taken to address crucial issues of equity and justice that are part of our social fabric? How can we build alternative approaches that recognize that people are more than analytics and metrics in service to the latest automated solution?

Join Stanford Social Innovation Review for our 6th Data on Purpose conference, “Democracy, Civil Society, and Digital Technology.” This year’s convening is designed to help nonprofit leaders and their teams (technical or not) identify and operationalize digital solutions to critical issues related to our democracy and civil society. With a focus on issues of equity, privacy & security, polarization, and the curtailing of misinformation, Data on Purpose will address the latest research- and practice-based insights from data scientists and researchers, nonprofit, foundation and for-profit leaders, policymakers, and other experts. Our goal is to help identify digital technologies that can strengthen our democracy and civil society, reduce inequities, improve the operation of nonprofit organizations, and empower the kind of informed, democratic participation which is a vital underpinning of civil society.

Participants in Data on Purpose 2021 will come away with:

• Knowledge of the tools and processes that can help organizations benefit from artificial intelligence and machine learning to reduce inequity and provide for their constituents, while avoiding the ethical and security concerns AI presents 

• ​Insights into how nonprofit organizations, labor unions, and social movements are using digital technologies and platforms to organize and empower their constituenciesand confidence in their own ability to answer the technology questions that have bedeviled their organizations, and tools to bring those answers to fruition.

• A better understanding of the current state of the digital divide, the ways in which challenges can be overcome, and where we still need to focus our efforts, with a special focus on maintaining human connections with those we serve in a world dominated by data

• Examples of how digital technologies are being used to strengthen civil society institutions and the social connections between people

• Knowledge of ways to support digital democracy and combat the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation, weaponization of information, and hacking

Nonprofit Management Institute 2020

The nonprofit sector has weathered many challenges; but nothing matches the scope and speed of the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had. Within a short period of time a health crisis in China turned into a global pandemic and economic shutdown. While some parts of the world are seeing a levelling-off of infections and deaths, others are still experiencing an increase in the number of new cases and hospitalizations.

Even as the medical and public health aspects of the pandemic become more manageable, the economic impact will continue for some time. Many small- and medium-size businesses will never return. Tens of millions of people have lost their jobs and are not able to pay their mortgage or rent, let alone their credit card bills and student loans.

Nonprofit organizations have been similarly devastated. For many, revenues have dried up and donations declined. Every nonprofit leader has had to respond to the pandemic and take steps to help their organization survive. Some have had to lay people off and cut salaries, and others have had to cut programs. In the process, however, many leaders have discovered new ways to operate their organization, offer programs, and provide services to constituents. Some have made small adjustments, and others large ones.

Beyond the obvious efforts like encouraging remote work and moving to online offerings, what are some of the innovative solutions that have arisen from this crisis and that have the potential to dramatically change how we as social sector leaders operate? What can we learn from this experience, and how can we come out stronger as a sector?

Like many of you in the sector, we at SSIR are adapting our approaches and operations in response to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In that spirit, we are pleased to announce that, this year, the 15th Annual Nonprofit Management Institute will be an entirely virtual convening.

Although virtual experiences are radically different from those presented in-person, we are committed to delivering a program that is just as informative, insightful, and engaging as that of any prior NMI. Over the next several weeks, we will be busy confirming our speakers and sessions, and developing other elements – including ways to network with your fellow social innovators – in order to provide you with an experience on par with what you have come to expect from SSIR convenings.

Join Stanford Social Innovation Review for our 15th annual Nonprofit Management Institute, “COVID-19: Reshaping Social Innovation.”

Nonprofit Management Institute 2019

Many of us today are living in a constant state of generalized anxiety, in both our personal and professional lives. Concerns about the state of the economy, the ever-shifting political landscape, and what these forces could mean for the future are creating a heightened sense of apprehension, and those of us in the nonprofit sector often feel especially vulnerable.

How do we transform this unease into a sense of renewed purpose and focus for the future?

Attendees found answers to these questions at Stanford Social Innovation Review’s Nonprofit Management Institute 2019: “Transforming Anxiety into Active Leadership.”

While the challenges we face are real and varied, the goal of this year’s institute is to provide social innovation leaders with the resources and insights they need to set or renew their objectives, expand their resources, and keep moving their organizations forward!

Topics included:

• Effective Communications Strategies and the Upside of Conflict
• Fundraising Approaches for Tougher Times and Changing Giving Patterns
• Maximizing Skilled Volunteer Talent
• The Role of Government Funding
• Partnering with Organizations Outside the Nonprofit Sector for Greater Impact
• The Power of Movements and Grassroots Organizing
• Technologies to Improve Efficiencies
• Collective Action
• Mergers as a Tool for Growth
• The Neuroscience of Anxiety
• Stress Management and Life Design for Nonprofit Leaders

… among others.

Data on Purpose 2019

Data on Purpose 2019: “Navigating the Digital Now”

In both our personal and professional lives, we are living in a digital world. The days of planning for our digital future are past. Today we operate in the digital now. Whether we identify ourselves as such, we are the leaders of digital organizations operating in a digital environment.

Nonprofit organizations have moved well past the time when technology and data were treated as standalone entities. Now they are an integral and critical part of our organization’s operations, on par with fundraising, communications, and other core functions. And like those other core functions, we must examine our technology and data strategies to properly evaluate and prioritize our needs and successfully build our digital capacity. How we do this is the theme of this year’s Data on Purpose 2019: “Navigating the Digital Now.”

At our 5th annual Data on Purpose conference, Stanford Social Innovation Review will help nonprofit leaders identify the best ways to build data and technology capacity. We will weave together the latest research- and practice-based insights from data scientists and researchers, nonprofit and foundation leaders, policymakers, and other prominent experts, to help identify what is truly important, versus simply what is possible or what is urgent.

Participants in Data on Purpose 2019 will come away with:

• insight into the latest technology trends impacting the social sector, and an understanding that they don’t need to keep up with every trend in order to successfully build digital capacity;  

• ​clarity of the changing role and practice of ethical data use, and an assurance that they don’t need to become (or hire) a data scientist to be a data-driven, digital organization;

• and confidence in their own ability to answer the technology questions that have bedeviled their organizations, and tools to bring those answers to fruition.

Additionally, we will have a special module at the conference dedicated to the 10th anniversary of Blueprint, the annual philanthropy and civil society industry forecast produced by Lucy Bernholz, director of the Digital Civil Society Lab at the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society.

Nonprofit Management Institute 2018

“Toward Real Change: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion”

While issues of diversity, inclusion, and equity have existed for decades (if not centuries), they have taken on a new urgency today in the worlds of business, politics, and—yes—even the nonprofit sector. Nonprofits, foundations, and social enterprises are hardly immune from challenges that include the lack of representation of people of color among boards and leadership teams, gender-biased wage gaps, hostility towards religious or sexual minorities, or sexual harassment, to name only a few.

The social sector faces problems with how our organizations are run, as well as how we work with the communities we serve. If we want to fully realize our goals as agents of social innovation, we need to address these issues head-on. And while we realize this change will not happen overnight, long-term solutions need to begin now if they are ever to be realized.

With this commitment in mind (and recognizing that we are just as guilty of not doing enough to address these issues in our own organization), Stanford Social Innovation Review announces the theme of the 2018 Nonprofit Management Institute: “Towards Real Change: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.”

Over the course of three days—September 12, 13, and 14, 2018—SSIR will bring together respected scholars exploring the latest research and thinking on the root causes and most promising solutions to issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion; notable leaders of organizations working to make progress against these issues, and prominent voices elevating the dialog on these topics. But we aren’t satisfied to merely raise awareness of these issues. Our goal is to probe the complex layers of these challenges, to create a greater understanding of the mechanisms that cause them, and to outline steps we can all take to address them.

In the spirit of co-creation, we encourage you to work with us to make this goal a reality by helping us craft this year’s program. Please use the apply using this link: http://bit.ly/NMISpeakerApp, or visit our “Schedule” tab to submit speakers and session topics that you feel should be represented at the 2018 Nonprofit Management Institute.

Frontiers of Social Innovation 2018

Every two years, Stanford Social Innovation Review—the leading global publication on cutting-edge theory and practice for the social sector—brings together senior leaders from nonprofit organizations and foundations, social entrepreneurs and philanthropists, leading academics and researchers, executives of for-profit CSR-centric businesses, and government policymakers from around the world for two days, to discuss, debate and develop solutions that address the most pressing global challenges. On May 21-22, 2018, attendees at Frontiers of Social Innovation explored some of the most important emerging forces impacting the world and society, including:

· AI's Human Impact 

· Modern Slavery and Global Income Inequality 

· Social Innovation and the Fourth Industrial Revolution 

· Democracy and the Growth of Social Movements 

· Systems Change and Impact 

· Inclusion and the Rise of Societal Equity

Data on Purpose 2018

The technologies that connect us and provide unimaginable opportunities to effect positive change can also expose us to potential liabilities and tremendous risks. This year’s Data on Purpose was a mix of plenary and breakout sessions, examining some of the larger forces for good and ill shaping public discourse and action (from click-tivism to cyber-hate, from movement-building to fake news), and presenting emerging technologies and tools that can make the work of social innovation more efficient and effective. 

Additionally, over the course of the two days we featured a series of quick “Technology for Good” presentations, where organizations addressing various challenges (education, health, environment, etc.) demonstrated how they are using the tools of the connected world to make a difference.

Nonprofit Management Institute 2017

The twelfth annual Nonprofit Management Institute—Leading Social Change in Turbulent Times—recognized that organizational leaders face difficult and uncertain roads ahead. Through a mix of intensive sessions, hands-on workshops, and insightful interviews with thought leaders from academia, nonprofits, for-profits, and government, this conference inspired and made the attendees ready to take action.