Recruiting strong leaders at the executive and director level is more important than ever, and increasingly difficult for nonprofits and social impact organizations. Key decisionmakers are tasked with finding someone who can navigate the many disruptions of our moment while guiding an organization confidently towards its North Star. Attracting the right candidates requires thoughtful planning before the search even begins.
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Is Ending Segregation the Key to Ending Poverty?
Innovation is tricky, especially for nonprofits. Fail to evolve and you might fall behind but deviate too far from proven best practices and you could potentially alienate funders while steering your organization on a dysfunctional path. Continue reading
How Video Games Create Social Change
Video games no longer only entertain us. Innovative nonprofits like Games for Change now use video games to create social change. The New York City-based organization was founded in 2004 by Asi Burak, a former Israeli Defense Forces captain. Burak and his small team created the video game PeaceMaker in 2005, which simulates the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Players make decisions based on real-life events that effect the social, political, and military dynamics for both countries. Helping people empathize with both viewpoints was Burak’s motivation to create PeaceMaker. Continue reading
Fairmount’s Favorite Tweets: 1/27 – 1/31 Edition
Who says you can’t teach an experienced dog new tricks? Fairmount Ventures has joined Twitter!
The Twitterverse is alive with stimulating conversation. Weekly we’ll share some of our favorite tweets. We view it as a quick way to stay informed on the facts, news, and quotes that introduced something we think is neat, interesting, or even funny. Continue reading
What LinkedIn’s New Volunteer Marketplace Means For You
You may not be aware yet, but earlier this week LinkedIn opened its Volunteer Marketplace – designed specifically for nonprofits looking for skilled volunteers.
For instance you might serve on a small, relatively unknown nonprofit with aspirations to expand your visibility. Using Volunteer Marketplace, you can post an opening for a Volunteer Director of Marketing, along with a description of the skills and experiences you seek. Chicago Family Directions, a nonprofit who provides long-term literacy tutoring to Chicago Public School K-12 students did just that using the marketplace and had 12 applicants one day after posting its position. Continue reading
You don’t have to be Veronica Mars…
…to launch a successful crowdsourcing campaign. Continue reading
Take a (Spring) Break
If you’re walking around Philly today, chances are you have spring fever, like me. As it turns out, that urge to ditch your desk and go have lunch in the park is pretty healthy, and might actually help you work smarter. Continue reading
THAT guy again
Anchors Aweigh
I’ve been thinking about anchors. No, not the seafaring kind, though I do enjoy a legitimate opportunity to wear Topsiders now and again. I’m focused on community anchors – go-to neighborhood organizations – and how they’re evolving to address deeply-entrenched challenges of poverty and blight. Continue reading
A Recipe for Big Ideas
There’s no easy recipe for innovation, but I’m pretty sure it starts with a big idea. Here are five ingredients for creating an environment where big ideas thrive. Continue reading