Social Impact – Sarah Hope Marshall – Profound Hope Industries

When Corporate Infrastructure Meets Start-Up Struggle: Why New Community Impact Initiatives Fail to Meet Expectations

Sarah Hope Marshall — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 23:02:04 +0000

If you are an executive leader starting a new program, mismanaged expectations may be setting you up for failure. When you build a program designed for legacy or impact, you do not get to bypass the start-up phase just because it is housed within an existing organization with infrastructure. As brand values and mission alignment have become more important to consumers…

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Strategic Planning for Social Impact: The Mid-Year Reality Check-in Guide

Sarah Hope Marshall — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 09:56:06 +0000

Summer is time for vacation – and for your organization’s mid-year impact check-in! Your organization likely had a strategic planning session about six months ago. Ideally, your organization has a deliberate plan for creating social change just like it has a strategic plan to guide its overall growth goals. Now is the time to sit down and adjust based on situations that have occurred since…

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How to Start A Non-Profit: First Ask, Is This the Best Way to Create Social Change?

Sarah Hope Marshall — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 19:39:47 +0000

Non-profit organizations start because someone cares enough about a problem to do something about it. You likely are one of those people. You may have stumbled across this article because you found an unaddressed need and are considering starting one yourself. Getting involved is the first and most crucial step in changing a challenging situation. People who care enough about a problem to do…

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Hope is Your Keyword for 2024

Sarah Hope Marshall — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 22:33:43 +0000

A reminder for the change-makers. Before I was a consultant, I was the Chief Executive Officer of a small CDFI credit union in Chicago. It was small enough that I knew quite a few members by name. One quiet afternoon, I was standing at the teller station with an employee. We struck up a conversation with a woman who regularly came in to make transactions. Then she suddenly told us, “you know…

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Community Development Initiatives Need a Strategy

Sarah Hope Marshall — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 22:23:53 +0000

Intentional change doesn’t come from accidental success. Your leadership team has decided it wants to make a big impact on ‘the community.’ The project could range from launching a new financial education program to running a charitable drive for a local school. Whatever the scope, you want to help your corner of the world gain a better outcome. Your organization wants to do community…

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Digital Equity in Everything: Four Principles that Matter

Sarah Hope Marshall — Thu, 11 May 2023 22:30:58 +0000

Your organization has a clear mission and vision, and solves a societal problem. So, you invest in accomplishing your organization’s mission by spending time, attention, and financial resources. Your organization structure is less relevant than the specific impact you have in mind to change the world. You track outcomes and impact, and know where you need to be in one year, two years…

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Reckoning with Digital Inequity in Place-Based Community Revitalization

Sarah Hope Marshall — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 14:33:00 +0000

Place-based community development in America has a rich history. Practices and procedures for successful redevelopment are supported by lobbying efforts, public administration, policy, federal funding, and the efforts of non-profits dedicated to neighborhood revitalization. Community revitalization work is often centered around specific geographic locations, while in recent decades modern…

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What Business Can Learn From Social Movements

Sarah Hope Marshall — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 06:57:57 +0000

Chicago, Illinois is the place I call home. The Windy City is recognized for its hardball politics and organizing history. In the late 1800s, the Pullman Strike led to major advances in improved labor law. Saul Alinsky, a well known community activist, spent his career in Chicago. He authored Rules for Radicals, still a popular handbook for organizers. His work with Chicago Industrial Area…

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If You Want to Run a Business, You Need to Know Your Blind Spots

Sarah Hope Marshall — Mon, 21 Jun 2021 06:59:46 +0000

Owners, executives, and bosses hold their own businesses back. That statement might hit a little hard if you fit the description. You might protest and say, “No, it’s the market!” or “it’s the competition!” or “it’s our lack of ___________(fill in the blank with your most frustrating operational challenge!” Conversely, you might agree with this statement and shake your head and think — “of course…

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Staying Power: Preserving Local Ownership in Gentrifying Cities

Sarah Hope Marshall — Mon, 22 May 2017 18:21:00 +0000

Read magazine article here: Cooperative Business Journal Volume 1 Issue 1 (fliphtml5.com)…

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