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How can your nonprofit embrace design thinking and experimentation to maximize your impact?

Leah Kral, shares insights from her book, "Innovation for Social Change: How Wildly Successful Nonprofits Inspire and Deliver Results". She shares how she turned 20 years worth of PowerPoints from workshops and convert them into book form. She discusses strategies nonprofits can implement to become more innovative and achieve their goals. Leah covered topics such as design thinking, workplace culture, nonprofit theory of change, and experimentation. Leah shares inspiring examples of nonprofits embracing innovation at all levels, from Alcoholics Anonymous discovering their 12-step model through trial-and-error to Mayo Clinic training staff to empower patient-first solutions.

Episode in a glance

- The Genesis of Leah's book 'Innovation for Social Change'
- Challenges and Barriers to Innovation in Nonprofits
- Embracing Design Thinking for Nonprofit Innovation
- Organizational Design for Fostering Innovation
- Personal Innovation and Persuasion in Nonprofits
- Theory of Change in Nonprofits Explained
- The Power of Experimentation and Learning from Failure

About Leah Kral

Leah Kral is the senior director of strategy and innovation at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. She provides tailored workshops and consulting to internal teams and to a network of nonprofit partners across the United States. For decades, she has been helping teams to break out of the busy daily routine and draw out their best creative thinking. She helps teams to design pilots, program strategies and meaningful evaluation approaches, leading to better outcomes and more compelling stories for supporters. She is the author of “Innovation for Social Change: How Wildly Successful Nonprofits Inspire and Deliver Results”

Connect with Leah Kral and get her book!

Website → https://leahkral.com/

LinkedIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahkral/

X/Twitter → https://twitter.com/LeahKral

Get her book here → https://a.co/d/aLvQfLS

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What if you could support local coffee shops and be sustainable with your coffee habit at the same time?

Aleksandra Brankov shares the story of Cafilia - a sustainable local coffee club that's transforming the coffee scene in Cleveland and soon launching in Columbus, Ohio. Cafilia's unique subscription model allows coffee lovers to connect with their community in local cafes while reducing waste through a reusable cup system. Aleksandra shares her inspiring journey, from conceiving the idea pre-pandemic to navigating challenges and becoming an entrepreneur and a mom at the same time.

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Fikret Zendeli shares the vision of Social Friday - an innovative global CSR initiative aimed at transforming unproductive Friday afternoons into opportunities for community service and team building. Fikret shares his journey repurposing Friday afternoons at his company into a movement that bridges the gap between businesses and their communities. Through engaging stories and insights, Fikret describes the impact of Social Friday on corporate culture, employee satisfaction, and societal well-being, highlighting the initiative's potential to redefine corporate social responsibility and foster a sense of togetherness and purpose within the workplace and beyond.

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Tara Barauskas shares the work at Community Corp of Santa Monica, and their transformative approach to creating affordable housing and fostering community resilience.  She takes us on a journey of how their initiatives not only provide homes but also build sustainable and inclusive communities, illustrating the profound social impact of their mission in one of America's most expensive regions.

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Emily Kane Miller shares the journey of the Saas platform, Ethos Tracking, highlighting their mission to transform social impact through data-driven insights. This podcast shares how Ethos Tracking is redefining philanthropy and corporate social responsibility by providing actionable metrics to measure, manage, and magnify the real-world impact of social initiatives.

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Pocholo Espina, founder of SIP PH, shares his transformative journey from a diver witnessing the impacts of plastic pollution to becoming a sustainability pioneer. He delves into the challenges and triumphs of introducing eco-friendly alternatives like metal straws in the Philippines and building a product based company aiming to inspire a broader societal shift towards environmental responsibility.

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The inspiring journey of Emmanuel Trinity Nsaabanye, founder of era92 Creative, highlighting how his enterprise is combatting youth unemployment in Africa through creativity and technology. It explores era92's innovative approach to empowering young people with skills in design and digital technology, transforming their lives and communities -- and is a powerful testament to how adversity can fuel social change and innovation.

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Lachandra B. Baker, founder of LBB Edutainment, delves into the transformative power of empathy and inclusion in the realm of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Sharing her personal journey and professional insights, Lachandra illustrates how empathy can break down barriers and foster authentic, inclusive environments.

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Neil Mehta, CEO of Givey, discusses how the platform is revolutionizing charitable giving by supporting small charities through digital innovation. He shares his journey from the tech industry to social entrepreneurship, and how Givey makes giving a seamless part of daily life, empowering local communities and driving grassroots change.

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Aaron Westbrook,  founder of Form5 Prosthetics, shares his journey from a teenager with a limb difference to an innovator revolutionizing the prosthetic industry.  Aaron shares the journey and evolution of Form5, showcasing how 3D printing technology and community collaboration are creating bespoke, functional prosthetics - but most importantly how they're empowering lives.

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