Happy Birthday to US!

Has it been a year already since ARC entered the blogosphere?

A lot has happened over the past twelve months...Foreclosure signs, unemployment lines, and debates about the likelihood of a double-dip recession.  

In the news, Barack Obama is in the thick of his first term as president in the U.S, Vancouver held the winter Olympics with almost no snow, Michael Jackson died, BP was responsible for the biggest oil spill in U.S. history, and, as I write this, a group of Chilean miners are being rescued after 69 (!) days stuck underground.

It’s definitely been a big year with a lot of ups and downs. But this fall, change is in the air.  Economic recovery is slow but it seems to be moving in the right direction. In Canada anyway, there is some cautious optimism that things are finally starting to get better as the economy gradually ramps up again.

Where non-profits are concerned, many are realising that some things will never be the same as they were two or three years ago.  The paradigm is shifting where they’re concerned and they have to shift with it or get out of the way.   

The themes that we have talked about here over the past several months have revolved a lot around this idea of change. We talked about non-profit leadership and innovation because they are the keys to surviving and thriving into the future. 

When it comes to innovation, we discussed the concept of reverse-innovation, and how new ideas don’t necessarily have to be complicated ones.  The rapid evolution of social media is pushing nonprofits even harder on the innovation front.

On the leadership side, we urged NFP leaders to avoid being the boiled frog. They can do this by putting their members in the drivers’ seat by actively seeking and implementing their input into the strategic planning process. 

We also stressed the importance of keeping track of the external trends and issues affecting the sector and their organizations.  Understanding how these trends, issues and member needs will evolve and being proactive in developing appropriate positioning strategies is the key to staying out of the pot.

On behalf of ARC, I really hope you continue to find value in what we write here as you work day after day through your non-profit to make this world a better place.

Thanks for reading and here’s to another year of great things to come!

Photo courtesy of Flickr's Rob J. Brooks