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Designing Tomorrow explores a new playbook for modern social impact leaders and brands to reach their true impact potential. Why do some social impact brands thrive, while so many others fail to get traction, build support for their cause, and make meaningful progress? Imagine your impact with truly sustainable revenue and resources. With deeper community engagement and relationships. With more influence in your social impact category. Hosted by Eric Ressler, Founder & Creative Director of C ...
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Most social impact leaders think theyâre measuring their impact â but are they really? Measuring impact is especially difficult when change happens over years or even decades, and when the outcomes are tied to complex, systemic issues. On top of that, the process of evaluation and measurement can feel like extra work â another task on an already fuâŠ
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Nonprofit leaders constantly hear that diversifying revenue streams is the key to financial stability. But what if that advice isn't the whole story? Research shows that 90% of high-growth nonprofits rely on a single dominant funding source. Does that mean nonprofits should double down on one funding streamâor is there a smarter way to approach funâŠ
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Failure isnât just a possibility in social impact work â itâs inevitable. But are we failing constructively? In this episode, Eric and Jonathan break down the difference between constructive failure and harmful failure, and why embracing the right kind of failure is essential for innovation, leadership, and long-term impact. From team dynamics and âŠ
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If youâve ever felt like your messaging isnât quite landing â like people donât get it or arenât inspired to take action â youâre not alone. We hear it all the time: âWeâre struggling to tell our story.â But hereâs the thing: your story isnât the story that matters most. The real question is: How do you craft messaging that actually moves people? IâŠ
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The way we work is changing â fast. Remote work, shifting boundaries, and evolving expectations have reshaped what it means to work in the social impact sector. But are nonprofits keeping up? In this episode, Jonathan and Eric dive into the unique challenges mission-driven organizations face in building a sustainable, healthy work culture. From balâŠ
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Confidence: itâs one of the most critical traits for effective leadership, but also one of the trickiest to master. In this episode of Designing Tomorrow, Eric and Jonathan dive into what it truly means to embody confidence as a social impact leader. From personal struggles with self-doubt to lessons on humility, resilience, and overconfidence, thiâŠ
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Marketing and fundraising are the lifeblood of social impact organizations. But too often, they're working in silos, disconnected, or even at odds with each other. This is a huge problem. Because when these two critical functions aren't aligned, it hurts your ability to build trust with donors, limits your fundraising potential, and ultimately reduâŠ
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Trust is not a given â itâs earned. In this episode, Eric and Jonathan explore how trust is shifting away from institutions and toward relationships, and why thatâs reshaping the way nonprofits and social impact organizations must operate. Youâll gain insights on: The hidden power of impact storytelling and why nonprofits often overlook it. The fivâŠ
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How do you keep your team energized, engaged, and alignedâespecially in the demanding world of social impact? Passion and purpose are key, but theyâre not enough on their own. In this episode, Eric and Jonathan unpack the essential elements of team motivation, exploring why some teams thrive while others stall, and revealing the missing ingredient âŠ
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Rewind: This episode was orginally published in Season 2, Episode 1. New episodes from Season 3 will continue to publish next week. â You probably shouldnât rebrand your social impact organization. Except, of course, when you really should. (wait, what?) Because when the conditions are right, a rebrand can be one of the most powerful ways to reach âŠ
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REWIND: This episode was originally released in Season 1, Episode 2. New episodes from Season 3 will drop in 2025. â Today, youâll consume 74GB of information. Thatâs the equivalent of watching 16 movies. In one day. Our inboxes are overflowing, our social streams are noisy, we doom scroll short form content on apps purpose-built to hijack our atteâŠ
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Is your organization struggling to turn awareness into meaningful action? Youâve nailed the brand and the website, but supporters still arenât stepping up. Why? In this episode, Eric and Jonathan tackle the critical but often overlooked concept of activation: turning passive attention into real-world impact. Whether youâre trying to inspire donatioâŠ
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Low pay the social impact sector is reaching a critical point. Leaders and workers alike are grappling with the harsh realities of compensation in an industry driven by passion and purpose. But at what cost? In the latest episode of Designing Tomorrow, Eric and Jonathan dive deep into this pressing issue, exploring: âą The cultural shift around workâŠ
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"Is your strategic plan collecting digital dust?" That's the question every social impact leader needs to ask themselves. We've all been there â investing countless hours and resources into creating the perfect 3-year plan, only to have it sit unused on a shelf. But what if there was a better way? A more agile approach that could energize your teamâŠ
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Are you losing touch with your community? It might be time to reconnect. As social impact leaders, we pour our hearts and souls into our work. But sometimes, in the rush to create change, we can drift away from the very people we're trying to serve. In our latest episode of Designing Tomorrow, we tackle this critical issue head-on. We explore the sâŠ
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"This looks great. Let me just get the board's input." Those words strike fear into the heart of every social impact leader. You've poured your heart and soul into a project, only to have it potentially derailed at the last minute. But what if getting community input didn't have to be so terrifying? What if there was a way to gather feedback that aâŠ
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Are you falling into the trap of transactional marketing without even realizing it? In this episode of Designing Tomorrow, we dive deep into why social impact organizations often default to transactional marketing approaches - and the hidden dangers of this common mistake. We cover: The 6 reasons why we fall into the transactional marketing trap WhâŠ
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The social impact sector isnât known for being very risky. In fact, itâs often quite the opposite. Too many orgs play it safe, afraid of over-scrutinization (the double standard is real here) and hoping to protect their mission and resources. But hereâs the thing â sometimes the most dangerous thing is playing it too safe. In this episode, JonathanâŠ
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Is your organization's purpose secretly undermining its impact? In our latest episode of Designing Tomorrow, Jonathan and Eric tackle a provocative question: When does your purpose become a problem? We explore the hidden mistakes that can trap even the most well-intentioned social impact organizations, including: âą Relying on wishful thinking insteâŠ
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Struggling to measure the impact of your branding and marketing efforts? You're not alone. Ironically, the more analytics tools we have to measure the success of our marketing efforts, the harder it seems to know whatâs actually working. This is especially true of broader brand marketing efforts, which are harder to measure and donât play nice withâŠ
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Branding/marketing isnât going to do anything for your orgâŠif you canât fund it in the first place. Unfortunately, justifying the investment in this work â both money AND capacity â for social impact orgs doesnât come as easily as it might for other sectors. And right now everyone is still stuck in the âdo more with lessâ mentality. Hereâs how to mâŠ
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Social impact orgs arenât known for being great at branding and marketing. But it's NOT just about limited resources â there's a deeper story here. Thereâs some big obstacles in the way, like: â The "overhead myth" that just won't die (KILL IT WITH FIRE) â A false dichotomy between choosing to invest in fundraising OR marketing (you need both) â ThâŠ
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Branding is about far more than just slick, eye-catching aesthetics. What truly transforms an organization is a brand built on vision and strategy. Without a clear strategy, positioning, and messaging, the aesthetic elements like logos, fonts, and colors wonât do anything to create lasting impact. Branding goes beyond visuals. Itâs about aligning eâŠ
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Do you ever feel like youâre just STUCK? Like no matter what you try or how hard you work you just canât seem to get traction? Weâve all been there before, and itâs NOT a fun space to be in. Hereâs the thing: there are going to be sticking points in your social impact journey. Thatâs pretty much guaranteed. What worked on day 1 â or year 1 â wonât âŠ
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Far too many social impact orgs are giving their power away â and they donât even know theyâre doing it. Thereâs a fundamental tension in the social impact space. A tension between the generosity that powers this sector and the need for social impact brands to leverage their power so they can make a true impact. But when this healthy tension straysâŠ
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Core brand values arenât just fluffy words you put on posters. But without the right approach, thatâs all theyâll ever be. Core brand values â when done right â can be absolutely transformative for your organizationâs culture, effectiveness, and impact. But you canât just come up with 5 words that all start with the letter âRâ and call it a day. SoâŠ
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What makes an EXCEPTIONAL social impact marketing team? Often, when we get this question from clients, they are trying to determine what ROLES to hire for. But thatâs putting the cart before the horse. Instead, itâs best to think about the QUALITIES and CULTURE of a successful marketing philosophy for your brand. Because you can build a highly-skilâŠ
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Thereâs one thing the most successful social impact orgs get right, every time. They truly define and own a niche. Owning a niche as a social impact brand is probably one of the most important â but least understood â superpowers to further your mission. When we help our clients define and own a niche, they: âł More easily drive engagement and actioâŠ
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Your brand is not your logo. Itâs not your fonts, or your colors, or your voice. Itâs not your content. Itâs not your mission. Your brand is: âł Whether you come through on the promises you make to your community âł The actions you take âł How your team shows up each and every day But what happens when you paint a picture of those values and promises,âŠ
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You probably shouldnât rebrand your social impact organization. Except, of course, when you really should. (wait, what?) Because when the conditions are right, a rebrand can be one of the most powerful ways to reach your mission faster. But how do you know when itâs the right time to invest in a rebrand? Letâs be real: a rebrand is a big swing moveâŠ
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In this bonus episode, we're kicking off Season 2 with a new co-host, Jonathan Hicken. Learn about Jonathanâs path to social impact, from being raised by peace corps parents in Venezuela to his current role as Executive Director at the Seymour Marine Discovery Center, a marine science museum. You can also learn a bit more about Eric's journey from âŠ
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Weâre back with Season 2 of Designing Tomorrow, and weâve got an exciting update. This season, weâre joined by our new cohost, Jonathan Hicken. Jonathan has extensive experience as a leader in the social impact sector, and brings a practitionerâs point of view to the show as he tests Ericâs ideas about brand building and marketing, and introduces iâŠ
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Todayâs episode is going to be a little different. Because this is the last episode in our first season of Designing Tomorrow. Today, weâre not going to introduce any new concepts or strategies. Instead, weâre going to challenge you. If you follow the the playbook we outlined over the course of Season One in Designing Tomorrow â truly, actually embâŠ
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Is your social impact brand attracting enough revenue to power your mission and build a healthy, sustainable organization? Or do you feel like youâre constantly chasing donors and customers just to keep the lights on? Chances are, the second scenario hits closer to home. If so, youâre not alone. Because the social impact sector has a revenue probleâŠ
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Is community in decline, or is the way weâre participating just changing? The data and statistics, as always, are messy. And thereâs valid opinions and arguments supporting different trends here. But whether or not community-engagement is in decline, our relationships with community is going through a rapid transformation. And as a social impact brâŠ
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What if we told you that there is a way to work smarter, not harder, with your content strategy that can help you get the absolute most out of each piece of content and idea that you come up with? Whether youâre just getting started on your content creation journey or if youâre a seasoned content creator with established workflows and formats, the âŠ
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Are you tired of putting time and energy into creating content that just doesnât get meaningful engagement from your community? Weâve all been there. Youâre proud of your hard work and effort. A feeling of excitement rushes over you as you hit âpostâ or âpublish.â This oneâs going places, you just know it. Only, it doesnât. It flops. Or maybe a fewâŠ
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Are websites a dying relic of the internetâs past? With so much of our digital engagement today happening through social channels, thereâs an ever-growing narrative that your website just isnât that important anymore. That what you really need to do is nail your content strategy. Get big on TikTok. Tell your story through short form video. Build suâŠ
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Picture this: Youâre scrolling through your inbox and see a message from an organization you support. But somethingâs not quite right. The subject line reads âURGENT! WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!â You open the email, only to be bombarded with more fake urgency around hitting an important fundraising deadline and how you, and only you, can make that happenâŠ
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Thereâs one critical piece of your social impact strategy that you have to get right. When you donât get it right, it holds back every facet of your growth and progress. Weâve seen it block and hinder revenue and fundraising. Weâve seen it create massive inefficiencies and reduce capacity. Weâve seen it negatively impact engagement, growth, and culâŠ
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Today, youâll consume 74GB of information. Thatâs the equivalent of watching 16 movies. In one day. Our inboxes are overflowing, our social streams are noisy, we doom scroll short form content on apps purpose-built to hijack our attention, designed by the worldâs smartest minds. But as the volume of information we consume grows each day, our capaciâŠ
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In our rapidly-evolving world, todayâs social impact brands are falling behind their profit-driven competitors. The old playbook for creating meaningful social impact just isnât keeping pace with modern culture. The lion's share of attention is dominated by big brands, often leaving social missions unable to remain relevant. But, for those of us coâŠ
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Why do some social impact brands thrive, while so many others fail to get traction, build support for their cause, and make meaningful progress towards their mission? Now imagine, for a second, what kind of impact you could create? With truly sustainable revenue and resources. With deeper engagement and relationships with your community. With more âŠ
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