You’ve heard how important it is for nonprofits to be innovative, right? But do you feel confident that your organization, or your team, is truly innovative? I bet your open to innovation and maybe you even prioritize it, like we do at Greenlights, but has it become an integral part of your culture? Is your organization structured to consistently nurture and reward innovative ideas?

At Greenlights, innovation is one of our core values, yet we struggle to truly embrace and integrate innovation, frequently blaming a lack of time and capacity. Finding adequate time and capacity are true challenges for us, and I’m betting they’re challenges for many other nonprofits as well, however, we are able to find the time and capacity to embrace a culture where fun, learning, collaboration, service and integrity are effectively integrated. So are we making excuses? Perhaps.

That’s why I was thrilled to read a new book by David J. Neff and Randall C. Moss, The Future of Nonprofits: Innovate and Thrive in the Digital Age. This book provides the framework that makes innovation achievable and puts the idea of innovation into context with numerous case studies and interviews.

Here are some of my key takeaways:

Be Prepared

Change is inevitable. It’s imperative that you are aware of changes that will affect your constituents and your organization, and identify ways to improve how you meet your mission through change. If your organization has built a successful innovation program, you will be poised to innovate when opportunities arise. As the authors put it, “To be innovative you need to be prepared to innovate.”

The authors also talk about futuring as a form of strategic planning for a future state. They define futuring as “the act of or the output from a concerted effort to examine the broad environment and make educated guesses as to what happens next.” They recommend futuring to prepare for potential shifts and changes that might affect the environment in which your organization operates in. Futuring “provides you the kind of insight you need to effectively innovate,” assert the authors.

The Magic of Engagement

Organizations are increasing prioritizing and tracking engagement as a key element in their marketing success. Even Coca Cola is shifting from prioritizing impressions to “expressions.” According to the authors, engagement is the most important metric for nonprofit organizations.

The more we engage with our constituents, the more we are aware of their needs as they relate to our mission, which can lead to innovation. The authors say that “At its heart, innovation is ‘creating with a purpose’ that maximizes the value exchange that occurs between an organization and its constituents.” If you are effectively engaging your constituents, you will be better able to understand, evaluate and maximize the value exchange. Innovation and engagement go hand in hand. They can fuel the other’s success, and without one the other is greatly weakened.

The Three Pillars of Innovation

So, what are the steps you can take to become an innovative organization? The three pillars of innovation that the authors identify are awareness, structure and staffing, which they discuss in this video: The Future of Nonprofits : Awareness is Dead

I highly recommend that every nonprofit professional read this book and start implementing the ideas and strategies presented to become an innovative organization. Those organizations that are able to capitalize on their ability to innovate will quickly become the leaders of our nonprofit sector.

Oh, and look for the mention of our #TXNS hashtag use for the Texas Nonprofit Summit on page 201.