Last Thursday you could find me drooling in my seat at the all-day social enterprise conference phenomena known as The Feast . As Stacey Murphy of @bkfarmyards put it: “#Feastongood was pretty unforgettable. Only criticism is too many inspiring people to meet in too little time.” It was hard to meet someone who wasn’t incredibly interesting and taking their ideas of social innovation to the next level (I challenge you to try at The Feast 2010–tickets are already on sale.) I am still somewhat in a daze regarding all of the things that were discussed, opportunities to be seized, and the amazing people who were brought together.
There was, however, a recurring theme that I noticed in many of my conversations: franchising, financing, and technology.
But let me back up a bit…the night before I attended a panel discussion at The Foundation Center on donor management systems. As some of the organizations I am working with are revving up for full-on fund development, implementing an affordable donor management program seems like a good part of the plan. I was a little shocked when I arrived that probably 80% of the attendees were twice my age. I got up and asked a question regarding options for donor management systems that would work for organizations with staff who telecommute and lack a brick-and-mortar base of operations. The question was confused people–both in the audience and in the panel–but I got a helpful answer in the end. However, the answer suited my question by accident–these traditional programs aren’t being designed with 21st century social entrepreneurs in mind, they just may work out unintentionally. (more…)