Recently, philanthropic futurist (and EPIP Minnesota chapter founder/former EPIP Board Chair) Trista Harris joined EPIP to talk about the ways that futurism can help the philanthropic sector imagine (and help create) the post-pandemic world.  The full talk is here but four pieces of wisdom that stuck with us were:

1) Stop loving the problem. Avoid making whatever problem or social issue that you’re trying to solve the sole focus of your work. Your discussions (both internally and with grantees) should be about what is being built in addition to what is being overcome.

2) Look for the future in the present. Make time to look at trends, best practices, and places where the changes you want to implement are already happening. You can always learn from the work of others.

3) Share trends within your organization. This can be done through digital tools like Chatter in Salesforce, Slack, and Evernote, or through discussion at staff meetings. Try to build an institutional habit of looking for and noting changes in the world around you.

4) The time to look forward is now. Try out new ideas quickly within your programs or grant-making and learn from both the successes and the failures. Don't let the fear of failure keep you from creating change.

For more, you can watch the full webinar recording for Trista's thoughts on paid leave, remote work, and more here and/or get a free copy of her book Future Good during the on her website, tristaharris.org.

And check out our next webinar, Virtually Equitable: Centering Inclusion In Our Online Workspaces, featuring workplace culture expert Joanna Gattuson, MPH in a talk about the ways that white supremacist culture can be replicated in remote workspaces and how to build practices that are inclusive and accessible for all. Click here to RSVP!