Transitions. Reflections from (what I hope is) a Social Impact Thoughtful Mentor. Part XII

My purpose is to support people and organizations through transitions, especially as they seek to do good, better. Please reach out if you need support in these areas.

Photo explanation. Last week a group of CEOs attended Wasan Island at a retreat organized by the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) . Wasan has always been a magical place for those of us lucky enough to get an invitation and I was thrilled to be able to workshop an idea I'm working on with CSI called How Change Happens. Watch this space for more to come on this topic or better still, if you are interested in getting involved please reach out to me directly.

Thanks to all these wonderful humans who offered their advice and insights while on Wasan and to the many, many more who have, and will, offer sage advice as we flush out this big idea to give us all a sense of hope and agency.

Tonya Surman Krista Pawley Andrea Nemtin (M.S.M.) Peter Jin Hong Jennifer Corriero Timothy Draimin Sandra Lapointe Heather Janes Hanae Bezad Dihan Chandra Tyrenny Anderson

#1. Social Impact Job. Endeavour is looking for an enthusiastic self-starter to join their Client Relations team! The Manager of Client Relations will support the Directors in the development and growth of Endeavour’s client base, and be responsible for overseeing current engagements as a liaison for client needs. This is a pro bono opportunity that offers you great experience. Send your cover letter and resume to: [email protected] and [email protected] and cc: [email protected] with the Subject line Application for Client Relations Manager. And check out their impact report. They are doing such great work!

#2. Fractional Employees. This trend hits home as that is where I have landed, working with a select group of organization who's mission resonates with my purpose. What are you seeing in this space?

Rishad Tobbacowala is an incredibly interesting futurist and strategist that writes on trends for big corporates that can easily be applied to the social impact sector. In his latest?newsletter entitled?The Future Does Not Belong in the Containers of the Past is this article he calls?The Next Wave: Fractionalized Employees

• The Fractionalized Employee model will allow companies to retain talent, grow talent, mix, and match talent in ways that are truly win-win.?
• The company gets access to cost effective talent and a program to differentiate and attract talent. It has a stronger culture than one with lots of people who do not leave or lots of continuous dependence on free-lancers.?

#3. Salesforce. Sixth Edition. Nonprofit Trends Report. Executive Summary.

In their latest Nonprofit Trends Report Salesforce captures some great trends that - while not collected from Canada - feel incredibly relevant to us. Please share if they resonate with you or not?

1. Global shifts. Persisting economic instability, rising costs of living, faster speed of technological changes, and recognizing the dawn of AI.?

2. Overall sentiments. The sector is determined, resilient, and optimistic, but smaller organizations feel more concerned about their future. Nonprofits with supportive governments tend to feel more confident and prepared than those lacking government support.?

3. Top challenges. Managing workload has become the most pressing issue, surpassing fundraising and staffing concerns, even more so in larger organizations. For small nonprofits, raising enough funds remains the hardest.?

4. Organizational changes. Some organizations saw decreases in staff, volunteers, and donations, while most others managed to maintain a stable footing in these key areas. A significant number of nonprofits have become more agile and flexible in responding to changing environments. Almost a third have increased their ability to plan strategically. The biggest change in the sector is the increased use of digital channels for internal communication.?

5. Fundraising changes. Through higher and wider uses of digital channels, fundraising continues evolving to attract new generations of donors and deliver better donor experiences. There are also changes in channel strategies, partnerships with other nonprofits, and more collaboration across teams to address fundraising challenges together.?

6. Ongoing limitations. A lack of training in digital engagement and delivery holds nonprofits back from making the most of their digital strategies and tools. Some organizations have seen a higher service demand without the capacity to increase service delivery.?

7. Major risks. The broader use of digital channels for fundraising can expose some nonprofits to critical data risks without adequate measures in place for cybersecurity and data handling. There is an urgent need to improve data management and security practices.?

8. AI perceptions. AI is on the nonprofit radar. The sector is cautiously optimistic and curious about AI’s potential benefits in content creation and organizational efficiency. The majority of nonprofits want to learn more about AI and how it could help them.?