Hi all,
Issue 3 is here and it’s been a good week. I’m honestly buzzing every time I hear that someone I know has received their COVID19 vaccine or have had their appointment scheduled. I’m excited to see their own joy/relief, hear of their renewed optimism for the year ahead and of course their plans to reunite with close friends and family that they have been distanced from. It has really helped motivate me as I’m sure it has for you too.
I finally felt those same emotions today as I heard that my wife will have her first vaccine shot this week, and that’s why it has been a good week.
Look, the fog will soon lift for all of us, and while we have lost a lot (and for those much, much more), we are beginning to see the path of better days ahead…
What I’m Writing
1 Link, 1 Paragraph & 2 Numbers. 3 Front End Additions To Diversify Your Candidate Pool. (3 min read)
You’ve made a conscious effort to make your job description more inclusive. You have even distributed the opportunity to a vast array of new networks. Yet by the time the application deadline rolls around the candidate pool looks unsurprisingly similar to every other opening you have had. Seem/sound familiar?
There are three simple things you can do to change this, one being the inclusion of the following disclaimer to all of your candidate packets: ‘Research shows that while men apply to jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, women and underrepresented/underestimated individuals only apply when they ‘tick every box.’ So, if you think you have what it takes, have transferable skills, are quick to learn, but don’t necessarily meet every single dot point on the job description, please apply.’
Nonprofit Private Universities: Philanthropy’s New Vehicle For Local Change? (5 min read)
When it comes to systems change in the U.S. is the private foundation model being overlooked by billionaire donors in favor of supporting/building programs in private nonprofits universities? There's a new trend to look out for...
Philanthropy & Disaster Response: Part 1 (Nonprofits) - Printers & Propellers. (9 min read)
It's surreal that I have witnessed two natural disasters exactly 10 years apart and in two different countries. The recent winter storms in Texas got me thinking of the need/opportunities for philanthropy and local nonprofits to play bigger roles in disaster response from funding to service delivery and the adoption of new tech - it ended up spanning two pieces.
What I’m Reading
How Museums Are Using Immersive Digital Experiences by Lizzy Hillier (8 min read)
Museums really have been one the biggest innovators during COVID - I’m excited for their future as stewards of our past and ushers of our future.
“An October 2020 study found that, on average, US museums lost 35% of their usual operating income in 2020 and expect to lose a further 28% this year. While these institutions are innovating new ways to connect with their audiences, digital fundraising remains 34% short of the revenue typically made from in-person events. As a result, it is crucial that museums continue to offer alternative, virtual experiences to the public to increase engagement and revenue.”
All Futurism is Afrofuturism by Noah Smith (8 min read)
A great primer here for the role of Africa as an integral part of, well everything really.
“Thus, the future of Africa is the future of humanity, despite the fact that Africa will experience a normal fertility transition and its population will eventually stabilize rather than explode. I don’t think people in the U.S. (or, probably, other regions) have come to grips with the full import of this.
But what happens to Africa is even more important, relative to the rest of the world, than these population numbers suggest! This is because Africa is still a mostly poor region. Economics teaches us that marginal utility — i.e. the amount life gets better when you get a little richer — is much higher for poor people. And with China and (to some degree) India industrializing successfully and seeing population growth slow, soon most of the extremely poor people in the world will probably reside in Africa.”
What I’m Sharing
Conference Invite: Good Tech Fest (May 18-19). I have just been confirmed as a speaker for the session ‘Future Philanthropy - The Tech Set to Transform Traditional Grantmaking’ Cost: FREE with my code ‘FriendOfTheNerd’ (to clarify, I didn’t choose that code!)
Job: Program Officer, (Future of Work(ers) thematic area) — @ Ford Foundation (New York based)
Speaking Opportunity: Good Tech Fest - join me on the slate! I just saw on the speakers Slack channel that they are still looking for extra folks. The conference had over 1500 folks from over 40 countries join and it is sponsored by Facebook & The Rockefeller Foundation.
Beta Invites: I have been given a further 6 invitations to join the Clubhouse community. Let me know if you would like one - I was told an amazing story from one of you that scored one of my invites that they had a conversation about their son’s artwork with Lupe Fiasco! I will also be releasing a Clubhouse guide for nonprofits with my Texas colleague Julie Morris and hope I can include it in my next newsletter.
Shoutout
Congrats to Efrem Bycer (who will be a featured emerging leader in Future Philanthopy) who was just unanimously voted to the The Commission on Community Investment and Infrastructure by the San Francisco County Board of Supervisors. Also to Wendy Scaife who leads the Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies at my alma mater QUT, who was recently awarded the Arthur Venn Lifetime Achievement Award at the FIA National Awards for Excellence in Fundraising.