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Featured Posts

How a Single Nonprofit Leader Can Shift How Money Flows to Social Change

How a Single Nonprofit Leader Can Shift How Money Flows to Social Change

May 27, 2020 By Nell Edgington

I received a great comment from a reader of my recent post, “The System for Funding Nonprofits is Crumbling. That’s a Good Thing.” While blog reader Vanessa agreed with my assessment that how we fund social change is horribly broken, she very rightly wanted to know what an individual nonprofit leader can do to overcome […]

What Powerful Connections is Your Nonprofit Missing?

What Powerful Connections is Your Nonprofit Missing?

February 12, 2019 By Nell Edgington

When I talk to a nonprofit leader for the first time I will often see opportunities for her to make powerful and transformative connections for her nonprofit — to influencers, social change networks, organizations, trends, advocates, and/or money — which she just doesn’t see. Let me give you an example. I was talking to a […]

The Danger of the Nonprofit Savior Complex

The Danger of the Nonprofit Savior Complex

February 28, 2018 By Nell Edgington

You know the Nonprofit Savior Complex, I know you do. It’s when a nonprofit leader begins to believe that she (and only she) cares enough, knows enough, or is enough to fix the massive problem she cares so deeply about. The positive side to the Savior Complex is it compels people who see an injustice […]

Understanding Movements for Social Change: An Interview with Sean Thomas-Breitfeld

Understanding Movements for Social Change: An Interview with Sean Thomas-Breitfeld

March 22, 2016 By Nell Edgington

In today’s Social Velocity interview, I’m talking with Sean Thomas-Breitfeld, Co-Director of the Building Movement Project, which brings a social movement perspective to research on nonprofit organizations. Prior to joining the BMP staff, Sean spent a decade working in a variety of roles at the Center for Community Change, where he developed training programs for grassroots […]

Reinventing Social Change Available for Pre-Order Now

Order Your Copy of Reinventing Social Change

January 21, 2021 By Nell Edgington Leave a Comment

I’m excited to announce that my new book, Reinventing Social Change: Embrace Abundance to Create a Healthier and More Equitable World is now available for pre-order!  Reinventing Social Change charts a path for you as a nonprofit or philanthropic leader to: Break free from limiting beliefs and restrictions Reclaim your power Kiss scarcity goodbye Attract […]

7 Questions to Move Your Nonprofit to Financial Sustainability

April 20, 2017 By Nell Edgington Leave a Comment

Financial sustainability seems to be the Holy Grail of the nonprofit sector. Everyone wants it, but few know how to find it. But it doesn’t have to be that way. I firmly believe that financial sustainability is attainable for any nonprofit, as long as board and staff are willing to ask the right questions and do […]

Speak Out and Be Counted

January 31, 2017 By Nell Edgington Leave a Comment

I had an ache in the pit of my stomach all weekend long. I get a stomach ache whenever something is very, very wrong. Friday’s Executive Order banning immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries is so very wrong, and so fundamentally un-American. I am an American because my ancestors at one point or another immigrated to this country because they thought it […]

5 Nonprofit Trends to Watch in 2017

December 8, 2016 By Nell Edgington 1 Comment

It’s that time of year again, where we take a look back at the year drawing to a close, and forward to the year ahead. We all know that 2016 was rough (and if you want to wallow for a minute or two, check out John Oliver’s cathartic send off to 2016). But I am […]

The Future of the Nonprofit Sector [Slideshare]

September 15, 2016 By Nell Edgington Leave a Comment

I’m excited to be heading to Pennsylvania next month to speak at the 2016 Nonprofit Day Conference. My keynote address for the conference will be “The Future of the Nonprofit Sector.” I wanted to share an abbreviated version of the speech with you here via the Social Velocity Slideshare library. In my mind, there are some fundamental […]

Social Change Requires a New Nonprofit Leader

March 24, 2016 By Nell Edgington 4 Comments

Note: Earlier this month I was asked by the Philanthropreneurship Forum to write a piece about nonprofit leadership, which follows. The piece originally appeared on the Forum here. The new millennium has been a difficult one. A struggling global economy, threatening climate change, crumbling education and healthcare systems, and a widening income gap are just a few of […]

The Network As Social Change Tool: An Interview with Anna Muoio

February 9, 2016 By Nell Edgington 2 Comments

In today’s Social Velocity interview, I’m talking with Anna Muoio, an expert on the use of networks in social change efforts. At Monitor Institute, a part of Deloitte Consulting, Anna leads the practice on how to drive large-scale social change through galvanizing networks around a shared agenda. She has led aligned action efforts for organizations such as New […]

Is The Nonprofit Sector Really Broken?

January 8, 2015 By Nell Edgington 7 Comments

There was a bit of a dust up in the (social change) Twitterverse yesterday. Ryan Seashore from CodeNow wrote a post on TechCrunch arguing that the majority of nonprofits are “broken,” and should act more like for-profit startups in order to create impact. The post follows a similar line of other arguments over the years (most recently Carrie Rich’s […]

The Networks and Institutions Of Social Change

November 13, 2014 By Nell Edgington 2 Comments

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how networks and institutions must work together to create social change. As I mentioned earlier, social change happens when networks (loose connections of people and groups) organize themselves enough to pressure outdated institutions to adapt (like in the civil rights movement, global democracy movements, and the state-by-state legalization of gay […]

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Recent Posts

A little change image from Matt Artz

Move From Nonprofit Fundraising to Social Change Financing

Children hugging each other

Make Money Your Nonprofit’s New Best Friend

Hand up in the sun

What Does Your Nonprofit Really Want?

Money

How to Move Your Nonprofit From Scarcity to Abundance

Fear is not a nonprofit's friend

Fear is Not Your Nonprofit’s Friend

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My new book“Reinventing Social Change” is coming Feb 2021.

Sign up for book updates, sneak previews, and Download my 5 Step Guide for Moving from Scarcity to Abundance

Reinventing Social Change Available for Pre-Order Now

Order Your Copy of Reinventing Social Change

January 21, 2021

A little change image from Matt Artz

Move From Nonprofit Fundraising to Social Change Financing

January 14, 2021

Children hugging each other

Make Money Your Nonprofit’s New Best Friend

January 8, 2021

Hand up in the sun

What Does Your Nonprofit Really Want?

December 10, 2020

Money

How to Move Your Nonprofit From Scarcity to Abundance

December 4, 2020

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