Austinite David Neff and Cincinnati native Randal Moss have hit upon something that is essential to those who want to help make the world a better place through innovation in a new generation. Their new book, The Future of Nonprofits: Innovate and Thrive in the Digital Age, gives nonprofits a roadmap that provides the fundamentals of creating an organization with innovative social media strategies.
Neff and Moss explore the nexus between innovation and nonprofit advancement and how social media will change nonprofits in the next five years. They also provide a blueprint for how nonprofits can change and prosper in a new environment where communication and community engagement is becoming an obstacle for many older nonprofits.
The book points out several key concepts for board members, volunteers, staff, fundraisers, and executive directors. The most intriguing part of the book is why innovation has stifled the average nonprofit – and how to change that, how to hire, train, manage and inspire “internal entrepreneurial” employees, and how to engage volunteers and promote cause awareness through Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, and iPhone apps.
Although the book’s title is The Future of Nonprofits, any social entrepreneur will gain valuable insights from the information and case studies in the book (these case studies are a wonderful way to understand the lessons of innovation offered in the book). As the authors correctly point out, every participant in the organization must buy-in to successfully implement innovation – everyone from clients, customers, the board or the executive director.
Here are three key elements of the book to get you started:
Using Innovation as a Strategy for Success. The million-dollar question in this new decade is how to leverage technology to drive change? Nonprofits not only need to understand that “change happens” but also that it should be a priority to anticipate what that change will be. This requires an outside the box thinker (or staff) in the organization who has a macro view of the entrepreneurial or nonprofit world. In a sense, this is a behavioral concept that can and must be adapted as technology and innovation changes on a daily basis. It’s all about “innovating” your mindset, not changing the core of your organization’s mission.
Hiring the Right Staff to Drive Innovation. Neff and Moss emphasize the need for nonprofits to hire with an eye toward innovation and see it as a critical component to an organization’s innovation program. The authors successfully point out that having the right approach for innovation development is only half the battle. Organizations also need the staff to execute all of the components necessary to drive and sustain change.
Fundraising in New Ways. Communication, communication, communication. In this regard, the core of nonprofit fundraising has not changed. It’s HOW you communicate that has evolved and impacts nonprofit’s ability to conduct business at a high level. This concept is one of the most important points in the book because it brings together the major themes of the book down into once core element: moving your nonprofit into a position to succeed in the long run.
At the end of the day The Future of Nonprofits is a book that helps nonprofits do more things that are relevant faster, less expensive, and drive key business metrics to help the organization feel better about the direction they are headed because it lays out a map to achieve innovation and sustainable change. There are many books out there about nonprofits and how to make them better. This book, however, delivers the message of change and sustainability in a way that is truly relevant to today’s society, economic conditions and to nonprofits just starting out or established for decades.
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