As nonprofit leaders, we try to read when we can - we are trying to stay up to date on social
movements and the latest strategies to create positive change in our communities and new ways of
handling the business side of running a non-profit so that we can handle things effectively. Over the
past year or so, I've had a few of you ask what books I would recommend for other non-profit and
social impact leaders, so in this video I'm excited to share 9 books that I've read that
have really helped me gain new insights and grow as a change maker. I will also be sure to leave
links to where you can find these books in the description below in case you're curious and want
to check them out. Welcome, or welcome back to my channel! I'm Amber Melanie Smith. I'm a non-profit
founder, executive director, and person making YouTube videos all about these topics here to
help others trying to create social change do the same. If you are interested in content all about
non-profits, or social enterprise, or starting organizations, or doing other kinds of social
impact projects, definitely check out the rest of my videos on my channel. And if you're looking
for some guidance and training on these topics also check out my website FounderToFullTime.com.
I hope you enjoyed this video - don't forget to give this video a like and subscribe to my
channel for more videos like it! Okay I'm excited to share these book recommendations with you
each of these books really really helped me grow and step up my game in a unique way i've divided
these recommendations into three categories the first is books that helped me understand people
and psychology in the context of creating an impact books about social change is the
second category and the third category is books all about how to be a great leader once again
if you're curious about any of these books i will leave the links in the description below where
you can check those out all right so here is the recommendations in category number one books all
about understanding people and the way they think because that is honestly a really important part
of creating a social impact and social change the first book and i really enjoyed this one
that i would love to recommend is the power of meaning crafting a life that matters this is by
emily esfahani smith i have always been interested in what it means to live a meaningful life
and have purpose in life so i was really drawn to this book and this topic especially after i heard
the author share some of this content during her ted talk i recommended this book for non-profit
leaders because well for one it helps you do some introspection and think about your own meaning but
it also helps you tap into how to help others find their meaning in life so on a personal note it can
deepen your own love of your social impact mission and whatever cause you're supporting and from a
practical or even business side understanding what people crave in terms of meaning in their lives
can help you craft some really great messaging for your nonprofit and the work that it does because
people are often drawn to great causes when they talk about finding meaning in their life and many
people find said meaning by getting involved with a cause so you can help people find their meaning
through working possibly with your organization and it will be a mutually beneficial beautiful
arrangement the second book that i'm really really excited to recommend and this is definitely
something i've recommended to a lot of people it is called switch how to change things when change
is hard this is by authors chip and dan heath this is extremely helpful in life in business
and especially in the nonprofit and social impact world because it talks you through human
psychology but also the very very practical steps that you can take to inspire people
to change their minds on challenging topics or motivate them to take action on something that is
complicated or hard and if you're in the nonprofit or social change world then you know that that is
most every social issue that we're trying to tackle here this book has really been
invaluable to me in helping me think through marketing materials and messaging and how to best
share ideas with others to gain their support all right in the second category of books that
i recommend these are all books that talk about how to create social change usually on a larger
scale and i think that even if your nonprofit is locally focused that understanding what can create
large-scale movements and social change can really help you apply some of the same principles in your
local community to deepen your impact too so it's just really helpful knowledge to have when you
are in the non-profit or social impact world the first book in this category is called doing good
better by william mcgaskill if you have ever felt lost or wondered how to know what social issues
or causes you should focus your energy and your time on this book might be for you it covers the
concept and philosophy of what's called effective altruism which is really a framework for helping
decide almost in a formulaic way they actually have a literal almost mathematical formula in the
book that you can use to figure out what issues you need to focus on based on what issues have the
most dire consequences for humanity and combined with which issues maybe are getting the least
attention so far across the globe and that's how you determine where you should maybe be
spending your time and energy tackling these big issues that could make a big impact but are not
getting too much attention just yet it also helps you think how you can personally use your own
specific resources and talents to most effectively make an impact maybe running
a non-profit is not actually the most effective way that you personally could make an impact maybe
it is teaching maybe it is volunteering maybe it is earning lots of money so you can give it to
charity there are lots of different ways that are described in this book and it really just kind of
gives you some perspective on how to tackle um almost without ego the question of how to make
the biggest difference in the world possible the next book in this category that i can't
recommend enough is called banker to the poor this is by muhammad yunus if you've ever been
curious about how social movements could have widespread impact and literally change the world
then this is a really fascinating story about the life and work of muhammad yunus who is considered
the father of modern micro finance in this book he details his steps his challenges and his
successes in creating and helping his organization grameen bank which is a noble peace prize winning
organization grow and thrive this organization is making business loans to the poorest people
in the world because typical traditional banks would not help them and so he went against the
grain and decided i'm going to be the banker to the poor and help these folks out and help them
lift themselves out of poverty if you're just learning about all of the different structures
and ways that um change is made in the world then this book is also a really great introduction to
the concept of social enterprise which is the idea of using market-driven business-driven approaches
to solving and tackling social issues the third book i want to recommend in this category is my
life my love and my legacy by coretta scott king coretta is of course the wife of the late martin
luther king jr but because this is coretta's story and not martin luther king's story we really get
a broader view of the civil rights movement as told from her perspective and it shares how
coretta continued her own work and the work of her late husband after his assassination to eventually
launch the king center for non-violent social change i enjoyed this book and i found value in
this book for numerous reasons but one of them is that it's helpful to remember that social change
is not created by any single person by themselves that they have many people around them who are
contributing and adding value and playing a role in the movement but one of the things i really
like most about this book is that when you read coretta's story you get this picture of a whole
human being not just the face of a movement not just an activist but someone who was a talented
singer someone who was a devoted mother and wife you get a picture of the full human being and it's
a really helpful reminder especially for those who are doing this work that we have to come to this
work as whole people not just as a symbol not just as someone representing a singular thing but as a
human being with rich and full lives the third category of books that i'm excited to recommend
are books that help you grow as a leader in this category the first book i'm excited to recommend
is manifesto for a moral revolution by jacqueline novogratz in this book novogratz who is the
founder of acumen if you're not familiar already shares her mistakes and her follies growing as
a change-making leader and how to overcome some of these challenges to make a deeper impact in
the world as you go she really emphasized the importance of leaders staying humble
of using a lot of their energy to empower other people and listen to other people
and how to avoid a savior complex this book really helped me reflect on my own leadership journey and
think about some ways that i might be able to improve as well you're never at the end of your
journey when you're growing as a leader and when you are trying to make a difference there's always
more learning to be done and i really appreciate how she emphasizes that throughout the book the
next book is start with why by simon sinek he's a little bit more of a well-known author perhaps
you've seen his ted talk on the same topic in his ted talk and in this book simon sinek really
talks about how the businesses and the individuals and the organizations that
tend to be the most successful in reaching their goals are the ones that focus on articulating and
and putting most of their energy into um their values and their purpose first
not so much their how they're gonna reach their goals the strategy behind it the actions
they're gonna take but the why the values the the reason the motivation behind what they're doing
this is something that maybe as change makers we kind of feel intuitively but it sounds so
like mystical like hard to to put into words that um i just really appreciate how senec
has done this and made it practical and i can tell you that when we really started doing this
for our organization we did see a change we saw people understand what we were about more clearly
and our support grew too we attracted more donors and volunteers and so i can attest that it works
the third book in this category or the eighth book on the list that i want to recommend is called
enchantment the art of changing hearts minds and actions by guy kawasaki now this book is generally
framed for the business world but i have found a lot of insights and value in it for social change
work as well kawasaki talks through what leaders can do to enchant in other words to excite
delight and earn the support and loyalty of others one thing that i really appreciate is how he
focuses on being human over being corporate or impersonal he emphasizes the importance of
storytelling and on relationship building all of these things which you might know if you've seen
some of my other videos i have emphasized as being effective strategies especially when it comes to
marketing and fundraising for your nonprofit if you are looking for some awesome inspiration to
help you develop a great marketing campaign i recommend you start with this book and the final
book on my list gets an honorable mention but just because i haven't finished reading it yet
and that is how to change the world without losing your mind by alex counts this book
really came at the right time for me because it has been a very long and challenging year
plus in the nonprofit and social impact sector and world and a lot of the leaders that i know
who are doing this kind of work are feeling really exhausted and some are very close to burnout too
as i mentioned i haven't quite finished this book yet so i look forward to sharing an update once i
have but so far i'm enjoying learning about some of the ways to cope with how exhausting this work
can be and developing some healthy strategies for dealing with burnout and keeping yourself happy
and healthy and as the title suggests saying while you do this work because if you are burned out
if you are exhausted if you're tired you can't bring your whole self to the work anyway
and that affects your team and your own well-being so it's important to take care of yourself as well
so there you have it nine of my top book recommendations for
non-profit leaders and social impact makers i'd love to hear from you do you have a favorite
book that helped inspire your work that keeps you motivated share in the comments below for sure and
as i mentioned before if you are in the process of starting a non-profit or need some extra support
definitely check out my website founder to fulltime.com or consider subscribing
to my newsletter for non-profit leaders and change makers where i send out resources
regularly for folks to help inspire some ideas keep up to date with the latest news and even
find some funding opportunities so i'll leave the links for those things in the description below
if you'd like to check those out i hope you found this video helpful and fun and please don't forget
to give it a like and subscribe to my channel for more content about starting a non-profit
or social impact project and more final thought if you are on facebook don't hesitate to check out my
group change the world or bust we've got folks in there from all over the world making an impact and
encouraging each other along the way i hope you liked this video and i hope to see you next time
bye