March 2026

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 31 mar 2026

COVID-19 has been disastrous for nonprofits and the sector is still reeling with the shock waves created by it. Human resources are the critical component of nonprofits. Even though the sector employs 10% of the workforce in US, but the nonprofits were left out of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) created by the Congress during COVID. Jon Pratt, former Executive Director of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, says, 'Work performed in the service of a charitable corporation...was excluded from the definition of 'employment' under the Social Security Act of 1935.' The mandatory old-age assistance and unemployment insurance was finally extended to nonproft employees in 1984. Rusty Stahl, President and CEO of Fund the People, explores the condition of nonprofit workforce, particularly underinvestment from government and philanthropy, and suggests ways to bring changes to make it thrive. He says, 'But our workforce has not been ignored or harmed by lawmakers alone. Nonprofit workers have long suffered from a chronic deficit of investment from within the social sector - from foundations, donors, and nonprofit boards and executives themselves.' According to the research by the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) - Issues of staff recruitment, retention, compensation, and burnout are the top internal challenges facing nonprofits, and have been for at least the last three years; While 93% of grantmakers believe they understand their grantees' challenges, only 53% of nonprofit leaders concur with that assessment. He points out the inadequacy of current funding, and says, 'While there are many wonderful funders and fundraisers in the field, I would argue that most types of grants available today are inadequate because they don't intentionally invest in the grantee's workforce. In fact, most grants actively disincentivize nonprofits from creating high-quality jobs.' He details the inappropriateness of major type of grants available now, such as project restricted support, general operating support, capacity-building support, and capital investment support. He proposes a new kind of funding termed as S.O.S. (Staff Operating Support) grants. Through this concept he suggests the process of intentionally offering incentive and budgets to nonprofits that would assist in elevating workforce development. He explains, 'S.O.S. funding is dedicated exclusively to investing in the grantee's team members and the organizational systems that support that team. Within this zone of restriction, it can be used in a flexible, responsive, and trust-based manner...S.O.S. funding offers a win-win for nonprofits and their funders. It can meet the staffing, flexibility, and budgetary needs of nonprofits, while addressing funders' desire for specificity, visibility, and measurability.' He provides 7 key traits of S.O.S. grant - (1) A focus on systems (2) Responsive to needs of the moment (3) Capital for humans (4) Grants, not fellowships (5) Good boundaries (6) Ability to document value (7) Consent of both grantor and grantee. Read on...

Nonprofit Quarterly S.O.S. - Nonprofits Need Funding for 'Staff Operating Support'
Author: Rusty Stahl

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 26 mar 2026

Sales become challenging in a down quarter but elite and resilient sales leaders take this as an opportunity to test their abilities and enhance their learning to get unexpected results. Jani Hirvonen, global head of search partnerships at Google, explains that elite leaders take the down moments head on, and these times in sales management strengthens team culture and set the stage for future growth if handled with discipline and a clear playbook. He suggests - (1) RIGOR (Stabilize What You Can Control): New initiatives with discipline; Cleaning up the pipeline; Opportunities are reviewed closely; Sharper focus on rhythm and consistency. (2) INNOVATION (Injecting New Energy): Balance discipline with innovation; Experiment and pilot new approaches; Rethink the market and direct more attention to emerging opportunities; Creatively motivate and incentivize the teams; Get quick wins to build momentum. (3) MINDSET (Reframe The Down Quarter): Tweak the down psychology and reframe adversity as learning opportunity; Restore confidence and morale; Build resilience and foundation for future; Lead by example. Leadership under pressure is what defines the true leader. A tough quarter is an opportunity to build a strong culture and strengthen sales team. Read on...

Fast Company: How elite sales leaders drive growth in down quarters
Author: Jani Hirvonen

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 26 mar 2026

Engineering design is an essential component of society's advancement and better future. Engineers utilize their expertise and knowledge to provide solutions. But, over the years the available knowledge has expanded enormously and being expert in all aspects is challenging and difficult for engineers and their teams. Design engineers can possess core knowledge in design process tasks such as design specification, ideation and design detail, but successful design implementation requires knowledge beyond it such as sustainability, materials, manufacturing, consumer behavior etc. According to the Concept-Knowledge (C-K) theory, creative design emerges when new concepts are matched with appropriate knowledge. Moreover, advancements in computational technologies has provided paradigm shift from computers as tools to computers as collaborators. Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a substantial contributor to this shift. The study, 'A framework of AI collaboration in engineering design (AICED)' [Authors: Chijioke C. Obieke of Queen's University (Belfast, UK); John Bridgeman of University of Liverpool (UK); Ji Han of University of Exeter (UK)], published by University of Cambridge Press in the journal Proceedings of the Design Society (August, 2025), introduces the AICED (AI Collaboration in Engineering Design) framework to bridge the knowledge space expansion gap in engineering design by creating a web tool Pro-Explora, that leverages advanced multi-agent LLM technology and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) among others, to accelerate early-stage design tasks. Authors explain, 'Specifically, we examine large language models (LLMs), particularly multi-agent LLMs...LLMs' ability to mimic human cognitive behaviour is unprecedented, supporting complex activities across various fields...Many AI systems and tools are available but often segregated and not specifically adapted to support engineering design activities. Aggregating these tools to support engineering design practice specifically is explored in this study, highlighting its novelty and contribution...this study proposes an approach that minimises privacy risks when using multi-agent LLMs as collaborators in engineering design.' The theoretical framework for AICED facilitates effective collaboration between designers and AI during engineering design activities, primarily focusing on early-stage design (problem definition, design specification, and concept generation) while also considering later stages. The AICED framework benefits student design engineers, freelancers, and individual practitioners. It lets them quickly expand or enrich their conceptual knowledge of an idea or design problem, facilitating more informed discussions with other professionals. The AICED framework is designed as an adaptable, open framework that can be tailored to meet specific organisational needs. Read on...

Cambridge University Press: A framework of AI collaboration in engineering design (AICED)
Authors: Chijioke C. Obieke, John Bridgeman, Ji Han