Stanford Social Innovation Review : Informing and inspiring leaders of social change

Nonprofits

Unhappy at Your Nonprofit Job? Maybe It’s Not Them, It’s You

When my mom got remarried a couple years ago, our entire family flew in from around the country. My grama had to come down to Washington, DC all the way from Ohio, and as usual, she created the most drama out of everyone in the wedding. Grama goes to the salon every time there’s a special occasion, but she is never satisfied with how the hairdresser styles her hair. She never likes it, no matter who coifs her unruly mane. She blames each of the unfortunate hairdressers who ruin her ‘do, demanding her money back in a huff after each fiasco. A few months later, she goes through the process all over with a different stylist, but the same outcome. It’s a pattern that characterizes every family event that involves my grandmother... (continue reading this blog post)

Nonprofits

The Nonprofit Summer Slide

When formal schooling was first established, the nine-month calendar that most schools operated from supported to the 85 percent of Americans who were involved in agriculture, and climate control did not exist in school buildings. Today only about 3 percent of Americans are engaged in agriculture and most schools have air conditioning, yet the traditional school year still dominates.

We began to see a shift in public government fiscal calendars in the 60’s and 70’s. Congress passed the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 which created the Congressional Budget Office and the current federal fiscal calendar. The thinking was that this allowed Congress more time to arrive at a budget each year. The Act outlines that on May 15th of each year Congress completes action on resolutions in the budget and then revisits these resolutions a week after Labor Day on new additions, which is five months later. I wonder if summer vacations have anything to do with this gap... (continue reading this blog post)

Global Issues

Context Deficit Disorder

Worried that there might be too much information about you online? Microsoft researcher and social media expert Danah Boyd says it's better to worry that there may not be enough. "The material that is being put up online is searchable by anyone, and it is being constantly accessed—out of context and without any level of nuance," Boyd told attendees of last week’s Supernova Conference at The Wharton School in Philadelphia. "That kind of spotlight on people can be deeply devastating... (continue reading this blog post)

Business

Natural Capital:  A New Force in Strategic Planning

BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil well crisis in the Gulf of Mexico is a caution to other companies to take stock of the entirety of their natural capital—not just the natural resource reserve they draw on, but the ecosystems in which they operate. The idea that natural capital should be viewed as a balance sheet asset, to be as carefully stewarded as other forms of capital, surfaced in the late 1990s. But with the publication of the Millennium Ecosystems Assessment by 1,360 international scientists in 2005, more firms are moving from theory to practice... (continue reading this blog post)

Social Innovations

Matching Human Capital with Financial Capital Will Make SIF’s Millions Go Farther

Literally years in the making, July 22, 2010 was a day of enthusiastic celebration for many across the social sector as the Obama Administration announced the eleven grantees of the new Social Innovation Fund (SIF).

Established by the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, SIF will support some of the nation’s most innovative and groundbreaking foundations and nonprofits. As Commongood Careers and Talent Initiative are dedicated to supporting the growth and development of such organizations, we have watched with eager anticipation over the past year as this historic legislation was brought to life by the team administering the funds... (continue reading this blog post)

Nonprofits

Future Corporate HR Line - “Non-Profit Executives Strongly Urged to Apply”

recently returned from a trip to the London School of Economics, where I attended a week-long session on organizational decision making and negotiation. Of the 34 attendees, I was the only individual representing the nonprofit sector. As I became the “nonprofit guy” in the room, many corporate and HR executives from global companies approached me and stated that they have envisioned a time when they would retire from the corporate world and transition into an executive position in the nonprofit sector. I praised them and said the nonprofit sector is always in need of great people. I talked to them about programs in the U.S. where universities are helping transition business executives into the nonprofit world, leaving out some of my challenges with these efforts. I also told them that many of the transitions that I have seen involving former business executives have had some road bumps. Often the new nonprofit leader does not have... (continue reading this blog post)

Nonprofits

Creatively Combining the Back Office: Shared Services Alliance Part 2

I announced in May 2010 that I would be writing a series on nonprofit back-office integrations or what these organizations refer to as Shared Service Alliances. In my first posting on this topic I explained that shared service alliances are partial integrations of nonprofit back office services for a group of agencies, provided on a fee-for-service basis, in order to achieve economic and program efficiencies. For organizations which are community-based and their autonomy is arguably an important aspect of their service delivery... (continue reading blog post)

Nonprofits

The Future of Leadership Development: Groups, Networks and Partnerships

Whether we seek to eliminate health disparities or prepare all children to enter school ready to learn, we do not have the leadership we need. The heroic model of leadership blinds us to the fact that untapped leadership potential exists everywhere. The dominant leadership model assumes that training individuals will better prepare them to lead strong organizations; and in turn strong organizations will produce better community-level results, but this model falls well short. Reaching the scale and scope of leadership needed to address complex issues requires new approaches to leadership development... (continue reading this blog post)

Nonprofits

The Nonprofit Sector Needs More Buffalo

Author, political commentator, and veteran campaign strategist Donna Brazile offers some sage advice in this month’s O Magazine:

Wilma Mankiller, the first female principal chief of the Cherokee nation, once told me how the cow runs away from the storm while the buffalo charges directly toward it—and gets through it quicker. Whenever I’m confronted with a tough challenge, I do not prolong the torment. I become the buffalo.

As the first African-American woman to manage a presidential campaign... (continue reading this blog post)

Nonprofits

Four Ways to Create a Successful Nonprofit Career Path

In most industries, there’s a clear path to leadership positions in your organization. In many companies, you might start out as an assistant, then get promoted to manager, then director, then VP, then senior VP, then hopefully one day the President if you have the ambition to be so. We love to read stories like that of Ursula Burns, the new CEO of Xerox who first came to the company as a summer intern... (continue reading this blog post)