Leah Kral

Social Impact Innovation Survey What do social impact organizations need to spark innovation? I’m reaching out to nonprofit leaders and changemakers to better understand the real challenges organizations are facing today—especially ...

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

🌍👂 July 18 was World Listening Day — and I want to listen to you.
💡 What do nonprofits need to spark innovation? 🚧 What’s getting in the way?
📝 Take this 3-min survey to share your insights.
🙏 Thank you for using your voice.
👉 Link is in the comments!

🪴 Nonprofiteers! If you are looking for a small group setting to build community, Lori Stanley and I host "Casual Conversations with Lori and Leah." It's free. You set the agenda. ☕ We keep it small and limit it to six participants.
📌 See dates and register here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

🎙️ Such an honor to be interviewed on the Untold Stories of Hope podcast, we had a conversation about encouragement, finding meaning in our work, and persevering through suffering and setbacks 🌧️➡️🌈

🎧 Tune in if you need a reminder that what you do matters — more than you know 💥 lnkd.in/evzneXqH

Nonprofits and A Strong Civil Society Not the withered branch - we are the unstoppable root system

substack.com/home/post/p-...

Nonprofiteers, it’s time we flipped that script.
Read more in my substack, link in comments.

What are your go-to books, podcasts, resources, or real-world examples on nonprofit earned income? 💵 💰 I’m curious how others are thinking about it, navigating it, and learning from it. 💡 Drop a resource, share an example, or tag someone doing this well!

Yesterday, I had the honor of speaking with 18 powerhouse sisters from Ghana and Kenya 🌍 who are part of the Women Faith Leaders Fellowship at Georgetown University’s Berkley Center. I was moved by their work, their light, and joy. ❤️💪🏾 To learn more: berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/features/wom...

🔎 🔬 Experiments and nonprofits? Huh? Enjoyed a conversation about nonprofit experiments and innovation culture with host Sarah Olivieri on the excellent Inspired Nonprofit Leadership podcast.

🎙️ 🎧 Check out our conversation here:
www.inspirednonprofitleadership.com/podcast/six-...

🛣️ In our sector, we can’t afford to stay silent if we think we’re heading down the wrong path. Our missions, our beneficiaries, and our donors deserve our curiosity—and our courage.

🔍 Or, sometimes we’re just too close to our work to see what’s missing. That’s where collaborative feedback comes in.

🛠️ Social impact pros: if you are looking for a small group setting to build community, join us for "Casual Conversations with Lori and Leah." ☕ We keep it small and intimate and limit it to six participants.

📌 Next session: Thursday June 5 noon-1 EST. Register here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

🌀Rationality has its place. But do we make enough space for wonder, storytelling, or reflection—not just analysis—in our work? Is there more wisdom in emotion than we usually allow? 🔗 Check out my review of Russ Roberts' book about this, Wild Problems, here: leahkral.substack.com/p/is-rationa...

🏝️ Remember that scene in the movie Cast Away when Tom Hanks' character, Chuck, is adrift at sea on his makeshift raft, terrified as he watches “Wilson” float away? 💪 💖 Sometimes we must release what no longer serves us—even when it once meant everything. What have you let go of in your journey?

💪 ❤️ For those of us working in social change, especially in moments when moral clarity feels hard to find, even within unjust systems and in the face of cruelty, we can choose to resist, to speak truth, and to act with humanity.

How are you navigating these tensions in your own work?

⚖️ ⛓️ Through their conversations, the play exposes the tension between authoritarianism and justice, showing how laws can be used to uphold oppression—or challenged to reveal deeper truths. There is heartbreaking pain but also hope and resistance.

A few nights ago I attended a dramatic reading of The Island, a powerful play. It tells the story of two Black South African political prisoners during apartheid who, while enduring the harsh conditions of a prison modeled after Robben Island, rehearse a scene from Antigone. 🎭

Nonprofit work is full of big questions.
❔ How do we serve more effectively?
❔How do we stay responsive in a changing world?
❔How do we build solutions that actually stick?

There’s no one right answer—but there is a process.

🔍 Discovery.

www.amazon.com/Innovation-S...

What are great social impact blogs on substack? Some favorites:
✒️ Major Grants by Susan Schaefer
✒️Future philanthropy by Ryan Ginard
✒️Nick at Noon by Nick Martin
✒️Fundable & Findable by @kevinlbrown.bsky.social
✒️Savvy Altruism by yours truly 😁 substack.com/@leahkral
❔ Who else should I follow?

🚀 There’s something powerful about a group of nonprofit leaders coming together, not just to learn, but to activate.
🎓🪴 If you seek growth, action-oriented thought exercises, clarity, or an energizing reboot, check out the PMA nonprofit leadership mastermind series: www.pmanonprofit.com/mastermind

🪴 Great opportunity for U.S. based nonprofits: UpTide is an accelerator that gives community-building nonprofits the tools they need to reach the next level of impact.

💖 Two info sessions in May, see: www.92ny.org/belfer-cente...

🛠️ For nonprofiteers and social impact pros: "Casual Conversations with Lori and Leah" is free. You set the agenda. ☕ We keep it small and limit it to six participants.
📌 Upcoming dates: April 11 (2 slots left!), May 13, June 5, noon-1 EST. Register here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

🤣 AI is too much fun!

Does anyone else love The Mandalorian as much as I do? 🧘‍♂️✨

I love supporting nonprofiteers on their innovation journeys. This is the way... Let's challenge the status quo together! 💪 ❤️

Glad to share the action figure AI prompt - just DM me. ☺️

Innovation for nonprofits with Leah Kral — Grace Social Sector In episode 120 of Nonprofit Mission: Impact, Carol Hamilton and Leah Kral discuss how to foster innovation within nonprofits. 

You can find the whole episode and transcript here:
gracesocialsector.com/missionimpac...

“These metrics are a waste of our time!”
🧩Metrics and evaluation can either help or hinder innovation. 🎙️I loved discussing this on Nonprofit Mission: Impact podcast. Innovation isn't just a strategy. It's a culture of learning, listening, and adjusting.
👉Link to the entire podcast in thread below.

🦿 An open source nonprofit brings together individual volunteers from across the globe to share designs for 3D–printed prosthetics, often for children and even for injured animals. 🔍 Read about e-NABLE in Innovation for Social Change www.amazon.com/Innovation-S...

🧦What do we think?
🧩 Thinking on your own life and career journey, do you have a wacky combination of interests that makes you, you? That sparks your creativity?
💡 Curious? See "Discover Your Superpower" in Innovation for Social Change www.amazon.com/Innovation-S...

🔧✨ Innovation isn't just a strategy. It's a culture of learning, listening, and adjusting. Honored to be on Carol Hamilton's Nonprofit Mission: Impact podcast. You can find the whole episode here:
gracesocialsector.com/missionimpac...

😁 Chameleon humor on April Fool's Day...
🦎By Eddie Ward @eddwardie (instagram)

❤️ Thank you readers for comments and reactions to Innovation for Social Change on Amazon and Goodreads!

📖 Innovation for Social Change is available at all major retailers, and now in over 700 libraries worldwide! www.amazon.com/Innovation-S...

💪 ❤️ Last night I attended a presentation on social innovation and learned about the work of @dogoodatumd.bsky.social UMD accelerator fellow Takiyah Roberts spoke of founding Dare to Dream, a nonprofit with a mission to empower youth entrepreneurs. 🎓 Check it out! www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOgs...