Reading for Leading Change-July 2026
We recommend these recent articles as you seek out new inspiration and innovative approaches to nonprofit leadership and social impact.
The best strategic decisions emerge when people can engage in honest, respectful conversations across differing perspectives. This article in the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Learning for Justice explores why dialogue is fundamentally different from debate and argues that listening with curiosity — not speaking to convince — is one of the most important leadership skills we can develop. We especially appreciate its practical relevance for nonprofit leaders who are building alignment, facilitating difficult conversations, and leading organizations through complex challenges.
Scaling Impact with AI: Emerging Patterns in Nonprofit Program Delivery
Whether we like it or not, AI is developing rapidly and will become one of the biggest if not the biggest technological transformations we’ve ever seen. AI is already reshaping our institutions, our communities, and our individual lives. Despite very legitimate concerns, nonprofits will need to adapt and also explore possibilities for how to navigate AI’s rapid development and explore the opportunities to advance ethical AI and for how to use AI for social good.
This report from Project Evident looks at how nonprofits are already using AI for program delivery — distinct from administrative or back-office functions — including personalized support, service coordination, knowledge discovery, screening and assessment, career development, and client matching. The report “shows how AI is helping organizations scale impact by freeing staff capacity, extending reach, enhancing decision-making, and enabling personalization at a scale that would otherwise require far more resources.” It also maps some program delivery use cases, including examples from 128 nonprofits using AI to extend and enhance their programs’ impact. The report offers guidance for both community nonprofits and funders, and is a useful resource for nonprofits seeking to enhance programs and enact responsible AI adoption.
What have you read lately that helped you lead your organization? We’d love to hear about it.