What emerging non-profit trends should you know?

We are at the beginning of a monumental digital transformation. Artificial intelligence (AI) may feel futuristic but is already being tested by 30% of nonprofits. To start experimenting, try: - Enable AI notetaking features in virtual meetings. If you pay for Zoom for have Teams, you have the capacity! - Test video creation tools like Descript. These are great for social media but also on your site! - Perform SEO audit on your website via a prompt like "Show an example of how to use the keywords in the both the content and metadata on this website: <>" AI can help us shift from a 'scarcity mindset' to one of abundance. By automating mundane tasks, it frees up resources, allowing us to focus on what truly matters: creating social change!

Non-profits rise in a tech-powered saga! Digital bridges span the globe, connecting heroes to wider audiences. Transparency, a beacon of trust, shines on their noble deeds. Collaboration, the mighty shield, unites heroes against complex foes. Data, the wise advisor, guides their path to impact's peak. Inclusivity, a champion's roar, amplifies unheard voices. Sustainability, the eco-warrior, plants seeds of green change. Storytelling, the bard's song, captivates hearts and minds. Adaptability, the ultimate weapon, flexes against shifting tides. Each thread woven, a tapestry of impact unfolds, a breathtaking tale of collaboration, resilience, and a world transformed!

Data-Driven Decision Making: Gone are the days of relying solely on gut instinct. By harnessing data analytics, nonprofits can: Optimize fundraising: Identify donor segments, personalize campaigns, and predict future contributions. Measure impact: Track program effectiveness, demonstrate value to stakeholders, and guide future initiatives. Improve operational efficiency: Streamline processes, allocate resources effectively, and anticipate challenges Embracing AI and Automation: AI and automation are not replacing humans, but empowering them.

We are leveraging digital transformation to streamline operations, enhance outreach, and improve engagement with stakeholders. The adoption of online fundraising platforms, social media campaigns, and data analytics tools allows organizations to reach a wider audience and gain valuable insights into donor behavior. This transformation is not only about embracing technology but also about creating a more connected and efficient ecosystem that maximizes the impact of the organization's mission.

This also relates to Digital Transformation. It's important to keep inclusion and accessibility top of mind when embarking on a digital transformation project, so that you create systems that are actually usable by staff and constituents. And, such a huge set of changes is an inflection point where staff can either be made to feel like they belong and are valued by being included in the process....or not.

I can see several DEI trends - 1. Diversity in board - it is more about just gender. It needs to represent the diversity of the clients and stakeholders. For example, in the Fair Trade Hong Kong Foundation Board, we have equal gender presentation and a neurodivergent person as the board director. The second is DEI recruitment. It should be flexible to build the talent pipeline. For example, open recruitment is important. However, staff members need to be empowered to work with the candidates to create the best environment for the candidates to demonstrate themselves to the best that they can. The next trend is to work with different sectors for DEI training and provide feasible accommodative measures for the employees.

One of the trends I see is that some of the funders would like to leverage funding for NGOs to pursue social entrepreneurship, partly encouraging NGOs to take a calculated risk to check the market response to new products and services. Some NGOs are interested in social entrepreneurship since it may help the NGOs to diversify their sources of incomes. For example, an organisation I know has the social enterprise and NGO arms. The social enterprise arms generates income by referring members to jobs and allowing companies to advertise their products and services. The NGO arm focuses on getting grants for members to learn more about how to prepare their life after the age of 45 or the entry to young old stage.

The non-profit sector is witnessing a shift from hierarchical to collaborative leadership, emphasizing the ability to work collectively for shared goals. This trend harnesses collective intelligence, fosters creativity, and builds trust and accountability. Collaborative leadership enables organizations to overcome challenges, resolve conflicts, and amplify their influence. To adopt this approach, leaders must enhance communication, facilitation, and negotiation skills, cultivate a collaborative culture, and nurture strategic relationships. This shift represents a dynamic response to the evolving landscape of the non-profit sector, fostering innovation and sustainable success.

The problems and opportunities that are in front of not-for-profit leaders cannot be solved by one individual or one organisation. We need leaders who are willing to move away from needing to own an idea to gain credit for it, to leaders who bring the right people together who can solve the problem or address the opportunity together.

Adaptive leadership is essential in the non-profit sector, providing the capacity to navigate uncertainty, seize opportunities, and inspire stakeholders. In a dynamic environment, this approach fosters resilience, strategic thinking, and innovation. By embracing change with a growth mindset, non-profit organizations can effectively address challenges, learn from experiences, and mobilize teams to achieve sustained success.

Another trend is the increasing monitoring of NGOs by the government in different parts of the world. This monitoring happens since NGO members are often caught abusing donations for personal gain. The other is the geo-political tension. Governments want to ensure that NGOs do not deliver any particular political agendas.

To go back to the basic definitions before tackling the topic, we must first separate the listed approaches/themes from the “brand” of “emerging trend”. Neither DEI, nor social entrepreneurship are emerging, and adaptative leadership definitely falls out of the definition. For example, an emerging “theme” is AI and non-profit, or quantum risk and cybersecurity for humanitarian protection. As humanitarians, we should keep focused on how trends are simply transformed by changing their name (e.g. from MDGs to SDGs), or changing a brief definition or objective within an existing practice. We should all pay attention to the digital transformation, that’s the sector that’s going to decide how every single trend progresses - or disappears.