Trends We're Watching

May 2024

FutureGood is a consultancy focused on helping visionary leaders build a better future. Through DEI consulting, strategic visioning, keynotes, retreats, and online learning, FutureGood helps thought leaders (like you!) to deploy futurism.

We are watching so many interesting trends each month that we've decided to share them with our community. If you want us to look out for a specific subject, reach out and let us know!

Creating an Equitable Future

Foundation and nonprofits that don’t use an equity frame for their work are exacerbating disparities every single day. This happens because resources flow to the easiest to reach and the most likely to be successful, without focused intervention. We need to take responsibility for our part in reinforcing systemic inequality and implement an equity frame for all aspects of our work.

SSIR dug into these inequitable practices. Read Now>

What this could mean for the social sector:  Foundations and nonprofits need to understand what an equity frame looks like for their programming or grant making as well as their internal operations.

Babcock Ranch is only 12 miles from Fort Myers Florida and was unscathed during Hurricane Ian, while Fort Myers suffered huge damage. This 100% solar community endured Hurricane Ian with no loss of power and minimal damage. It is a private-build, resilient community.

By contrast, Puerto Rico's grid was wiped out by Hurricane Maria in 2017 and is still struggling. Read Now>

What this could mean for the social sector:  Foundations need to understand what natural disaters are likely to happen in the geographic areas they work in and who would be most negatively impacted. Furthermore, they should know which organizations they could fund immediately to create on-the-ground impact right away.

Learn to spot trends relevant to your work

If you want to learn more about futurism, including how to spot and make sense of these trends, you can! Sign up for our online learning program, FutureGood Studio, and empower yourself to be future-ready!

Our schools have been built for assembly line jobs: follow directions, do your part and you will be successful, etc. Those are not the skillsets that we need in the future. Going forward, we need students who can partner with technology and who can remix technology (2 techs together to create something new). Consider This>

Kids of color are actually uniquely skilled in many of these areas because they are used to working outside the dominant methods because those methods don't work for them.

What this could mean for the social sector: Foundations need to focus on the future in education now, understanding that the way education is set up is tied directly to tomorrow's equity. How are you helping schools ensure they have equitable results?

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