#FP 15 - Can we get a little optimism up in here?
Ideas & opportunities for future focused civic leaders...
Hi all,
Happy New Year & all that jazz.
The opening salvo from 2022 has been one where a new COVID variant has ripped through the world and put yet another pause on heading back to the office - and in all honesty, put a dampener on our shared expectations of getting back to whatever our normal is going to be for the next few years.
But let’s not have this early (or continued) blip derail our plans for the year ahead, nor stifle our creative approaches for tackling social change in a new hybrid working environment (I’ll stop way short of stating a metaverse)…
2022 is a year of promise, one where I see record amounts of investment in nonprofit infrastructure, one where I see the current norms around grants & reporting coming into focus, and one where AI will begin uncovering new donors and as a result, yielding new 7 - 8 figure donations.
Yes, the future is bright and that’s why I enjoyed writing a couple of prediction posts in more depth, and of which are linked below (namely VR & blockchain). I would’ve loved to have written more but as per Beth Kanter’s advice in my books afterword, sometimes you need to have a digital detox and that’s what I duly took over the holidays, heading with my family to New Orleans & to a good friends wedding in San Diego. I hope y’all enjoyed your break too and come back to your important work both energized and focused for whatever is thrown at us.
Here’s to the months ahead and come this time next year, all that we see in our minds, we are able to hold in our hands.
Cheers,
RG
P.S - check out the ‘what I’m sharing’ section below. There are some cool speaking opportunities you might want to take advantage of!
What I’m Writing Predicting
5 predictions for the use of cryptocurrency & blockchain in the nonprofit sector next year (9 min read)
“I believe that we’re in a similar moment as to when non-profit organizations began to accept credit card gifts. We were used to cash and checks and knew how to process them and what to do with them. Credit cards had a stigma and we were confused on what to do with them. So most non-profit organizations avoided them for seemingly as long as they could. And they missed out on many potential gifts because of it.
Cryptocurrency is different than credit cards and it’s unlikely that the majority of your giving will be via cryptocurrency anytime soon, but don’t miss out on the potential gifts that individuals do want to make to your organization.
Unlike the transition to credit card giving years ago, cryptocurrency giving is much easier to integrate. Utilizing a platform like Engiven allows you to accept crypto, receipt donors and instantly liquidate cryptocurrency into USD or the fiat currency of your choosing. It really is that easy.”
5 predictions for the use of virtual reality in the nonprofit sector next year (5 min read)
Nonprofits and associations within the sector are beginning to use virtual reality, augmented reality, 360 video, and other innovative storytelling vehicles to help advance their missions with some encouraging (if not, exceptional) results. So how far away is the charitable sector from using VR as a legitimate communications and fundraising tool? We take a look at what’s in store for this medium in 2022 and make 5 bold predictions for its usage as it seeks to become more mainstream.
The use of VR in the nonprofit sector is still in its infancy and predominantly used right now by large international charities and higher education institutions due to the costs, skills and capacity required in creating original content. These costs have come down considerably in the past 5 years from (in some cases) six figures down to $5-10k, so I’m optimistic that it might be more viable now as we can see both a return of investment and the magic that comes from a return on immersion.
However, for it to really permeate the sector, it will require the foresight (and goodwill) of first movers in this space to continue to increase awareness of VR in marketing and fundraising, and ultimately share its results to help more organizations become more comfortable in utilizing these lived experiences for the common good.
Top 5 Future Philanthropy Posts of 2021 (3 min read)
2021 was a big year for me and my Future Philanthropy blog with my book coming out at the end of October. The blog really primed the sector for my project and was a great/natural extension for my thoughts on the sector and where it may go over the coming decade.
I look forward to this year with excitement – as you will see from my prediction posts above – but also learning more both virtually and as we transition back to in-person events.
As with all cliched blog traditions, I am happy to share the top 5 viewed posts from the blog from the year that was, one where we continued to navigate a global pandemic, the acute pain points of our field, yet one where we collectively nudged closer to a new normal & shared optimism for our future.
Thanks again to all who have supported me, my book and the experimental content that constituted the future philanthropy blog…
What I’m Sharing
Live Video Interviews: The Nonprofit Show is the only daily live video broadcast where our national nonprofit community comes together for problem solving, innovation and reflection. Each day Julia Patrick and Jarrett Ransom, along with their guests cover all relevant topics with fresh thinking and ideas to help you and your nonprofit achieve mission, vision and values.
Want to join us as a guest? Submit your inquiry to the show on this form (linked)
Conference Speaking: Good Tech Fest 2022 is accepting speakers on a rolling basis. The application is simple and acts as the organizers way of collecting interest and ideas. They don't need to be fully formed yet.
I spoke at this conference last year and definitely recommend it to anyone interested in showcasing your work to an international audience!
Application form can be found here (linked)
Mentor/Mentee Opportunities: Are you interested in finding a mentor in fundraising or serving as a mentor to an emerging fundraising professional?
Applications are now open for the AFP/Blackbaud Emerging Leader Mentor Program and the AFP/Alford Group Women’s Mentor Program.
Mentor and mentee applications for both programs are due by Jan. 19, 2022.
AFP/Blackbaud Emerging Leader Mentor Program (linked)
AFP/Alford Group Women’s Mentor Program (linked)
What I’m Reading
Detroit youth got to decide how to award $100,000 in grants. Here’s what they did. by Nushrat Rahman (5 min read)
A philanthropic foundation asked a group of Detroit youth how they would award $100,000 and they came back with an action plan.
Thirteen young Detroiters selected 15 nonprofits in the city — from mentorship programs to sports teams — to receive grants from the Skillman Foundation. They were tasked with figuring out, through research and collaboration with one another, how to allocate thousands of dollars in grant funding.
"Often what happens in foundations is that we — from our positions of privilege and power — impose ideas of metrics, of what impact is supposed to look like, and really what this is about are young people, telling other people who are champions of young people, you're doing good work, we see you, you're amazing,"
At Work, Expertise Is Falling Out of Favor by Jerry Useem (24 min read)
The people who did best tended to score high on “openness to new experience”—a personality trait that is normally not a major job-performance predictor and that, in certain contexts, roughly translates to “distractibility.” To borrow the management expert Peter Drucker’s formulation, people with this trait are less focused on doing things right, and more likely to wonder whether they’re doing the right things.
High in fluid intelligence, low in experience, not terribly conscientious, open to potential distraction—this is not the classic profile of a winning job candidate. But what if it is the profile of the winning job candidate of the future?