Nonprofits Who Know the Importance of Design Leadership and Collaboration
We’ve all heard the buzz words “design leadership” roll off the tongue of some forward-thinking CEO or entrepreneur. But what exactly do they mean, and why should we care?
The truth is, companies are becoming more and more design-centric. The New Enterprise Associates conducted a survey in 2017 revealing that 85 percent of startups feature CEOs or other high-ranking leaders who help contribute and shape design-based decisions. Furthermore, these design initiatives have substantially improved business results for the companies involved.
In a loose context, design leadership can offer the potential for success because it blurs the lines between creative disciplines, and allows for those in leadership positions to break outside of the conventional mold and collaborate with diverse perspectives that can offer a breath of fresh air.
This kind of inventive leadership could prove imperative for the nonprofit sector, to both help spur innovation and discover new ways to overcome the odds that are constantly being stacked against them.
Wethos sat down to talk with a number of leaders of nonprofits and other organizations on their platform to hear their thoughts about the importance of creative collaboration and design leadership.
TWO BLIND BROTHERS
We are Bradford Manning and Bryan Manning, “co-brothers” of Two Blind Brothers. We are on a mission to cure blindness. Our clothing is made by the blind, and we donate the profits to fund research that can lead to new cures for various eye conditions. At the age of five, my brother and I were diagnosed with an eye condition called Stargardt’s Disease, which destroys our central vision.
What value do you place on creative collaboration with diverse third party entities (i.e. leaders from different backgrounds, specializations, industries, etc)? Do you have any experiences to share where an unlikely pairing or creative collaboration helped your nonprofit achieve its goals in a way that couldn’t have been possible otherwise?
The magic of collaboration is that it lets you reach a new audience. Recently, we partnered with AT&T on the #ExperienceMore campaign to promote accessibility across their services and devices. At first glance, it wouldn’t look straightforward *pun intended* for a charitable clothing project and a giant telecommunications company to work together. But, it was specifically the diversity and niche aspect of the opportunity that made it a great fit.
AT&T was able to speak directly to our audience, which cares a lot about inclusive and accessible products. For us, it was a chance to spread useful information to our audience and to reach the broader AT&T community. The best collaborations often come from non-overlapping entities. Charitable organizations also have an advantage in their ability to bring goodwill and new stories to brands that fight hard for a relationship with the customer.
How do you think the concept of design leadership could potentially benefit the nonprofit sector?
Every brand, whether charitable or for-profit, is in the game of fighting for people’s trust and attention. It’s difficult to rise above the “noise” (i.e. news media, social media, and digital entertainment). With that in mind, leadership is critical as it relates to a strong vision *pun not intended*, innovating, and taking creative risks. The distinctions between for-profit and non-profits are also disappearing. Non-profits are using metrics and KPI’s like traditional companies. At the same time, companies are building social programs and charities. Be different and novel, otherwise you won’t be able to capture the attention of your customers or donors.
BOW WOW FILM FESTIVAL
Bow Wow is a Boulder, CO-based collection of short films that travels the U.S. BWFF collaborates with animal rescue and service dog organizations and a variety of dog centric, animal welfare groups, to create an amazing community event, and fundraising opportunities for our hosts. Our films are a joyous, heartfelt and fun collection that all celebrate the human-canine bond. We have hosted over 35 shows across the country and in just two short years, and have raised over $125K with our hosting organizations!
What value do you place on creative collaboration?
Bow Wow would not exist without creative collaboration. First, our filmmakers and their support is crucial but so too are animal welfare organizations that are willing to try a new and different fundraising event. And the companies that partner with them to sponsor the show must see the value in reaching out to the community in this new way!
How do you think the concept of design leadership could potentially benefit the nonprofit sector?
The nonprofit sector can feel a little stodgy at times, very conservative and afraid to take risks. I think design leadership can benefit the nonprofit sector because it looks to the new and fresh to infuse a company with energy and ideas to support its goals and mission.
Watch the trailer for the Bow Wow Film Festival here.
DARE TO RUN
I’m Rachelle Suissa, and the name of my organization is Dare to Run. Our mission is to train women to run for public office at all levels of government.
What value do you place on creative collaboration?
I do place value on working with leaders from other industries, especially the tech industry, because I think it’s important for Dare to Run to have a strong social media presence and an inviting website. I don’t have any experiences like that thus far; most of the individuals who have helped the nonprofits I have worked with I recruited on my own, and they weren’t leaders in any particular industry or sector. They were just individuals looking to assist with the work of nonprofits.
How do you think the concept of design leadership could potentially benefit the nonprofit sector?
I think design leadership is extremely important. When people form nonprofits, they think about the goals, the mission, the vision, the staffing, etc. — but they rarely think about design. When I formed Dare to Run, I wasn’t thinking about how design leadership would be impactful; I was thinking about my goal for how many women I am going to train and be able to encourage to run for public office. Design leadership offers a new way to think about these goals and a new opportunity to present my nonprofit to the world.
THETA DELTA CHI EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION
My name is Patrick Tiernan, and I’m the Director of Development for Theta Delta Chi Educational Foundation. As a small, intimate, diverse fraternity focused on scholarship, leadership, and a responsible social life in the 21st century, our mission is to nurture and support the academic and philanthropic needs of our undergraduate fraternity brothers by supporting various leadership and educational opportunities.
What value do you place on creative collaboration?
I find that utilizing the talents of diverse third party entities allows small non-profits like ours the ability to develop creative outlets not otherwise possible. In being open to growth, our educational foundation continues to look toward the horizon of creative technologies that meet donors where they are at in their own philanthropic goals.
How do you think the concept of design leadership could potentially benefit the nonprofit sector?
This concept pertains to the key objective behind any strategic planning based on an organization’s core values. By grounding a mission in an outcomes-based plan, design leadership is capable of creating safe channels for innovation while allowing non-profits to model their strategic plan in a holistic way. In short, it sends a message of authentic transparency to donors while giving NPOs an opportunity to explore technologies that they otherwise wouldn’t have the vision to consider.
SORT
I’m Julian Foley, CEO of SORT. SORT Recycling Limited is an Australian not-for-profit community recycler, which aims to enhance recycling while creating new jobs. Over the past five years we’ve worked across 25 of the most resource-poor communities in Australia as a not-for-profit community recycler. Our small-scale projects involved training and job creation for long-term unemployed people and refurbishment of digital technologies to low income families. We’re now turning our efforts to developing an entirely new distributed waste management system, the SORT System ™.
What value do you place on creative collaboration?
As a design-led team, SORT is greatly supported by our network. The engagements we build from our local community hub in West End, Brisbane has resulted in a collaborative ecosystem of digital developers, designers, stakeholders, startups, local community groups, and recyclers. Alongside our network, our design leads develop training, workshops, events and learning experiences for the local community, which is integral to SORT’s pathway toward source separation and resource recovery.
How do you think the concept of design leadership could potentially benefit the nonprofit sector?
Everyone designs. When design leadership is truly collaborative and embraces complexity, it can facilitate people’s ideas and trigger social change in a way that allows people to design their own lives. At SORT, our design leads help trigger meaning within source separation, resource recovery, and community learning as a system that moves towards a viable future.
HIYO DESIGN
I’m Cristina Jayo, Co-founder and Strategic Design Director at HIYO DESIGN. Our mission is to connect designers with different skill sets from all over the world with our clients in order to find the perfect fit for their needs. “An army of talented digital nomads,” if you will.
What value do you place on creative collaboration?
Though we’re not a nonprofit, one interesting collaboration has been working with designers and creatives from Puerto Rico, post the Hurricane Maria devastation. A lot of people were left without jobs and opportunities due to the disaster. Once the internet started working in a few designated hotspots, such as co-working spaces, we saw an opportunity to give some people digital jobs with HIYO DESIGN.
How do you think the concept of design leadership could potentially benefit the nonprofit sector?
The nonprofit sector really needs good design. We at HIYO have done some pro bono work for non-profits, but often sadly, they end up at the bottom of our priority list due to the budget. With Wethos organizing, we hope to find the perfect balance where everyone wins!
