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Three Nonprofit Problems Design Thinking Solves That Planning Can't

Design thinking gets sold as empathy for outward-facing services. Its real value for a cash-strapped nonprofit is fixing the problems planning can't see — the patients who never show, the program nobody can attend, the internal logjam everyone blames on people. Three scenarios, and the single question behind all three.

Your Nonprofit's Risk Radar Only Looks One Direction

Most nonprofits build an alarm for bad news and miss the tripwires for good news. Opportunity isn't luck. It's a search you can run.

What Happens When a Nonprofit Combines Design Thinking with Risk Management

Lean risk management already scans for threats and opportunities. Design thinking changes where you look for them — starting with the people you serve. Run the two together and you surface openings a conference room never sees.

The Scarcity Trap: Why Your Nonprofit's Biggest Risk Might Be How You Think

When money gets tight, the real risk isn't the shortfall — it's what scarcity does to how you see. Here's how to widen the frame before it costs you.

Undergirding Everything: Why Nonprofit Values That Aren't Practiced Are Worse Than No Values at All

Challenge 50 in the series 50 Reasons Why It Is Hard to Run a Nonprofit

Your Nonprofit Is Operating in a Bubble — and the World Outside Is Changing

Challenge 49 in the series 50 Reasons Why It Is Hard to Run a Nonprofit

The Nonprofit Accountability Problem: When Everyone Has a Claim, Whose Needs Come First?

Challenge 48 in the series 50 Reasons Why It Is Hard to Run a Nonprofit

Your Nonprofit's Budget Tells the Truth About Your Priorities — Even When You Don't

Challenge 47 in the series 50 Reasons Why It Is Hard to Run a Nonprofit

Nobody Understands What Your Nonprofit Actually Does — and It's Costing You

Challenge 46 in the series 50 Reasons Why It Is Hard to Run a Nonprofit