Maybe you’ve heard the aphorisms about failure from tech evangelists: Fail up; fail fast; fail often. Failure has become a kind of success, a bragging right on its own. But our failure worship only extends so far. If a company fails, the misstep becomes a charming bit of folklore that proves grit. But if a charity is bold enough to fail on a project? That’s not allowed.

By fearing failure, we forfeit innovation. Nonprofits are at the mercy of donor whims, news cycles and economic downturns, without the means to improve methods. This is troubling at the best of times. Then the pandemic hit. The inevitable contraction in future government spending to pay off climbing national debt will likely put even more pressure on the social sector, which is already suffering under dwindling donations. This at a time of greater social need, while unemployment is “literally off the charts.” The need to embrace social enterprise, a model that uses market forces for the sake of doing and scaling social good, has never been greater.

As the pandemic still looms large, here are four ways charities can and should innovate now:

  1. Don’t Fear Change (Especially Technology)
  2. Celebrate Social Enterprise
  3. Invite The Next Generation
  4. Measure Meaningfully

Read the full article about nonprofit innovation by Craig Kielburger at Forbes.