Suzanne's Next Chapter
One of the conversations I often have with students is about the difference between success and significance. Success is often individual and something you achieve alone. Significance is shared and always involves other people.
Success asks: “What did I accomplish?”
Significance asks: “Who did we help? What changed because we were here?”
For many social entrepreneurs and social sector leaders, the moments they are most proud of are rarely the awards, titles or headlines. Instead, their proudest moments are the people they helped grow, the communities they strengthened and the work that kept moving forward because they were part of building something larger than themselves. Lately, I’ve been reflecting on that idea myself.
As I celebrate my 17th anniversary with Social Impact Architects and 30 years in the social sector, this next season of work feels less like a career milestone and more like an adventure. When I began this work, it was to help you — but you have helped me more than I could have ever imagined.
So much of what I’ve learned came from you:
Nonprofit and government clients wrestling with hard decisions
Students asking me to define challenging concepts in plain language
Podcast hosts willing to explore big questions about nonprofit leadership and the future of the social sector
Readers who email me after blogs and ask, “Okay … but what do we actually DO about this?”
You’ve shaped this work more than you probably realize.
Over the last year, the conversations around my work have grown beyond nonprofit strategy alone. Increasingly, they are about what it takes to build organizations that last.
With that in mind, I want to share updates on a couple of big projects I’ve been working on and offer opportunities for you to get involved.
A New Home for my Thought Leadership Work
I am excited for you to be the first to see my new website, MeetSuzanne.com, which will serve as a home for my keynote speaking, workshops, podcasts and other thought leadership work. The Social Impact Architects website will continue to serve as the home of my team’s consulting services and our blog, Social TrendSpotter. And we are thrilled at the growth of the blog on Substack.
The new site includes:
A new keynote speaker sizzle reel (Huge thanks to the team from Outspeak for being amazing partners on this step AND to all of you who sent in your pictures to be included!)
Podcast interviews on topics such as leadership, CSR, emotional intelligence, nonprofit leadership and volunteerism (Great for your Memorial Day weekend listening!)
Keynote details, including my latest one, Nonprofit 2.0, on the future of nonprofits
A few ways you can help:
Watch and share the sizzle reel with folks who are booking speakers for 2026 and 2027
Send along your favorite podcasts — I’m actively booking conversations for summer and fall
Share your testimonials or endorsements if we’ve worked together over the years
Please see below for a survey to share your ideas, favorite podcasts or endorsements.
Announcing my First Book
My first book, The Nonprofit Flywheel: A Playbook for Sustainable Growth, Smarter Strategy and Lasting Impact, launches in August, and I can finally share more about it with you!
This project grew out of years of workshops, classrooms, board retreats, strategy sessions and lessons learned the hard way. We call it a “playbook” because it centers on evidence-based strategies for building nonprofit organizations that are resilient, sustainable, mission-driven and built to last.
And while the work itself is serious, we also believe learning should be engaging, so this book is intentionally designed to feel different from traditional nonprofit books.
Most importantly, the digital version will be available as a FREE download, with the option to buy a hard copy through Amazon at cost. Our goal is 5,000 downloads on launch day in August to prove to publishers that there is an audience for books about what’s next for the nonprofit sector.
I am so grateful for this community and value your opinions. If you’re interested, there are many ways you can help with this launch.
I’m looking for:
Advance readers
Book club hosts
Podcast referrals
Book reviews on Amazon
Preorder supporters (you want to be on this list — we will send stickers and an autograph!)
Testimonials and endorsements
To help us collect information, we created a quick survey where you can:
Share your testimonial
Vote on potential book covers
Join the preorder list
Volunteer to help launch the book as an ambassador
Suggest podcasts
Raise your hand for book clubs, testimonials or advance reading
It takes a village! We will send you more details as they become available over the summer.
In gratitude for how you have inspired us, we want to share our Top 10 Playlist for Nonprofit Leaders. We hope you’ll listen, reflect and find a little extra fuel for the work ahead.
If success is something we achieve individually, then significance is something we build together. Thank you for helping shape my journey.
Open the Top 10 Playlist for Nonprofit Leaders on Spotify.