Spike Lee’s third feature film, Do the Right Thing, was released on June 30, 1989 in theaters across the United States. The racially charged, thought-provoking drama focuses on the hottest day of the year on one block within the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn—a block that is home to the only white-owned business in the black-majority neighborhood, Sal’s Famous Pizzeria. The story unfolds as the cast of memorable characters circulates around Sal’s. Rising tensions lead to an eventual breaking point that results in violence and catastrophic consequences. Upon its release, the film caused quite a stir due to its provocative depiction of race relations, which included explicit references to recent notorious events in New York. Lee’s Do the Right Thing was nominated for two Oscars (Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Screenplay) and was later dubbed “culturally significant” by the U.S. Library of Congress. Today, it stands as one of Hollywood’s most noteworthy depictions of race relations in America. But before you login to your Netflix account to see if its available to stream, check out these five nonprofit headlines from the news this week.
1. Tips for Effective Storytelling
Behind every brand is a story. According to Forbes, creating the right narrative—especially in the nonprofit world—is crucial for driving engagement and garnering support for an organization’s mission. And it’s not just the story nonprofits are telling, but the way they tell it that can make all the difference when connecting with potential donors. While mastering the art of storytelling may seem like a huge feat, there are techniques that one can use to facilitate the creation of marketing content strategies. Want to better engage donors through storytelling? Click on the link above to discover six effective techniques for fine-tuning your organization’s narrative.
2. Leadership Gaps in the Nonprofit Sector
Nonprofits are not just a “feel good” sector—they are a necessity to local and international communities alike. Organizations within the nonprofit sector, however, are suffering from a leadership gap. A gap that, according to Quartz, stems from a lack of investment in leadership development. In a recent study of approximately 1,200 nonprofit leaders, only 20% are confident they have the abilities to enable their team to achieve its goals. And only 20% of the leaders stated that they had a formal succession plan in place at their organization. So, what does leadership training entail and how can it benefit your organization? Learn more by checking out the link above.
3. Strategic Reserves and Financial Sustainability
For nonprofit organizations, endowments represent the apex of ideal funding streams—a fantastic notion of being able to fund everything from organizational infrastructure to workplace coffee, all without having to shave dollars from each and every contract. But with the scarcity of such funding, most nonprofits are forced to find alternatives, alternatives that are scantily described or discussed. A recent webinar from the Nonprofit Quarterly, however, showcases an emerging trend among funders and their grantees: funder strategic reserves made available for long-term use in the pursuit of nonprofit missions. Follow the link above to discover how a reserve grant program can impact your financial sustainability.
4. Considering Social Enterprise? Read This
Oftentimes nonprofit leaders look to social enterprise as a means to diversify funding sources and drive sustainable revenue. But what about social enterprise’s ability to impact an organizational mission? By selling a service or product, nonprofit organizations utilize a market-driven approach to address unmet, rudimentary needs—and help to solve social and environmental problems along the way. In this way, according to Forbes, social enterprise can become a substantial accompaniment to current operations of any charitable organization. Before you choose to strengthen your nonprofit with social enterprise, check out the link above for three things to consider.
5. How Does Your Nonprofit Self-Identify?
The last 35 years have seen a shift in the nonprofit sector and self-identity. Once seen as the “volunteer sector,” nonprofits now insist on being recognized as a sector of paid professionals. According to Stanford Social Innovation Review, this unintentional aftereffect of a focus on professionalism has led to the dismissal of all-volunteer nonprofits. Movements—contrary to professional and expert-led organizational initiatives—arise from those most directly affected by a problem. Recognizing the democratic process that gives both respect and authority to non-experts, perhaps the nonprofit sector should reclaim its identity as the “volunteer sector.” Learn more about the inherently democratic identity of the nonprofit sector by clicking on the link above.
That’s it for this week’s Friday Five! We’re all set for a great weekend ahead—“And that’s the double-truth, Ruth!” See you next week!
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