Designing Tomorrow: Creative Strategies for Social Impact
Designing Tomorrow explores a new playbook for modern social impact leaders and brands to reach their true impact potential.
Why do some social impact brands thrive, while so many others fail to get traction, build support for their cause, and make meaningful progress? Imagine your impact with truly sustainable revenue and resources. With deeper community engagement and relationships. With more influence in your social impact category.
Hosted by Eric Ressler, Founder & Creative Director of Cosmic, with co-host Jonathan Hicken, Executive Director of the Seymour Marine Discovery Center, each episode dives into the strategies, mindsets, and behaviors top social impact brands use to play and win in the attention economy. Go beyond high-level concepts to specific tools and tactics you can use today.
Watch on YouTube or listen to new episodes each Tuesday.
Let’s design a better tomorrow, together.
Designing Tomorrow is a Cosmic Production. Learn more at https://designbycosmic.com/
Episodes
55 episodes
Is Our Obsession with Efficiency Backfiring?
We’re constantly told to “do more with less” — but what if that’s the wrong goal altogether?In this episode, Eric and Jonathan challenge the traditional definition of efficiency and unpack why it can be a trap for social impact organizat...
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Season 4
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Episode 8
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27:19
Storytelling For Complex Missions
Too many social impact organizations are stuck trying to explain everything they do — and in the process, end up saying nothing that sticks. When your mission is complex, how do you distill it into a clear, compelling story that actually resona...
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Season 4
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Episode 7
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23:43
Pros and Cons of Major Donors
Major donor funding can feel like the holy grail of nonprofit growth — big checks, deep relationships, and potentially game-changing support. But what’s often left out of the conversation? The risk.In this episode, Eric and Jonathan dive...
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Season 4
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Episode 6
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34:14
Designing Impact Reports That Actually Work
Annual reports shouldn’t feel like an obligation — they should feel like a gift. But for too many nonprofits, impact reporting is still stuck in the past: flat, uninspired, and quickly forgotten.In this episode, Eric and Jonathan unpack ...
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Season 4
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Episode 5
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31:28
How to Sell a Vision Before It’s Real
Social impact leaders are visionaries — but getting others to see what you see isn’t easy. When your work hasn’t caught up to your ambitions, how do you win over funders, staff, and partners who need proof before they commit?In this epis...
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Season 4
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Episode 4
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33:48
Eric’s 3-Part Content Strategy That Works Every Time
Nonprofit leaders know storytelling matters — but many are missing a critical opportunity to move hearts, shift narratives, and deepen support. In this episode, Eric and Jonathan pull back the curtain on why so much nonprofit content falls flat...
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Season 4
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Episode 3
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31:41
What to Do When Funders Say "No"
Not all “no’s” are equal—and if you’re in fundraising, you know that firsthand.In this episode, Eric and Jonathan unpack the three types of objections every social impact leader will face: the silent no, the vague no, and the hard...
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Season 4
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Episode 2
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27:59
The Sector Is Shifting: Here's How to Lead
Social impact leaders are scaling back, funding streams are evaporating, and public trust is eroding. In this candid kickoff to Season 4, Eric and Jonathan hold space for what’s really happening in the field—and why this moment demands courageo...
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Season 4
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Episode 1
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25:55
Stuff We've Messed Up (and Learned From)
To wrap Season 3, Eric and Jonathan are doing something different — and a little vulnerable.In this raw and unfiltered finale, they look back on the leadership decisions, strategic misfires, hiring blunders, and marketing missteps that d...
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Season 3
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Episode 16
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37:13
Jonathan’s Big Problem
What do you do when your mission is evolving… but your brand, programs, and funding strategy haven’t caught up yet?In this episode, Jonathan brings a live challenge to the table: a bold new vision for the Seymour Center that could reposi...
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Season 3
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Episode 15
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32:34
How to Build a Sustainable Revenue Stream
The funding landscape is shifting, and relying on the same revenue strategies that got you here may not be enough to take your organization to the next level. Many nonprofits and social enterprises struggle to generate enough revenue—not just t...
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Season 3
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Episode 14
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43:19
Social Impact in the Era of Misinformation & Media Chaos
We are living through the biggest shift in media and marketing of our lifetimes. Misinformation spreads faster than ever, trust in institutions is crumbling, and social impact leaders are left navigating a fractured, chaotic digital landscape.<...
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Season 3
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Episode 13
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28:59
Beyond Vanity Metrics: Measuring Real Impact
Most social impact leaders think they’re measuring their impact — but are they really? Measuring impact is especially difficult when change happens over years or even decades, and when the outcomes are tied to complex, syst...
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Season 3
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Episode 12
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32:15
The Secret Behind High Growth Nonprofits
Nonprofit leaders constantly hear that diversifying revenue streams is the key to financial stability. But what if that advice isn't the whole story?Research shows that 90% of high-growth nonprofits rely on a single dominant fundi...
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Season 3
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Episode 11
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29:39
Rethinking Failure in Social Impact
Failure isn’t just a possibility in social impact work — it’s inevitable. But are we failing constructively? In this episode, Eric and Jonathan break down the difference between constructive failure and harmful failure, and why embracing the ri...
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Season 3
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Episode 10
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34:53
The Last Messaging Framework You’ll Ever Need
If you’ve ever felt like your messaging isn’t quite landing — like people don’t get it or aren’t inspired to take action — you’re not alone. We hear it all the time: “We’re struggling to tell our story.”But here’s the thing: your story i...
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Season 3
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Episode 9
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33:24
The Changing Work Culture in Social Impact
The way we work is changing — fast. Remote work, shifting boundaries, and evolving expectations have reshaped what it means to work in the social impact sector. But are nonprofits keeping up?In this episode, Jonathan and Eric dive into t...
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Season 3
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Episode 8
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37:25
Why Confident Leaders Build Stronger Organizations
Confidence: it’s one of the most critical traits for effective leadership, but also one of the trickiest to master. In this episode of Designing Tomorrow, Eric and Jonathan dive into what it truly means to embody confidence...
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Season 3
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Episode 7
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25:01
The Right Way to Align Marketing and Fundraising
Marketing and fundraising are the lifeblood of social impact organizations. But too often, they're working in silos, disconnected, or even at odds with each other.This is a huge problem.Because when these two critical functions ar...
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Season 3
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Episode 6
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33:26
The Art and Science of Trust Building
Trust is not a given — it’s earned. In this episode, Eric and Jonathan explore how trust is shifting away from institutions and toward relationships, and why that’s reshaping the way nonprofits and social impact organizations must o...
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Season 3
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Episode 5
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39:03
Why Your Team Is Losing Motivation—and How to Stop It.
How do you keep your team energized, engaged, and aligned—especially in the demanding world of social impact? Passion and purpose are key, but they’re not enough on their own. In this episode, Eric and Jonathan unpack the essential elements of ...
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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35:15
Rewind: When You Should (And Shouldn't) Rebrand
Rewind: This episode was orginally published in Season 2, Episode 1. New episodes from Season 3 will continue to publish next week. — You probably shouldn’t rebrand your social impact organization. Except...
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30:32
Rewind: How Top Brands Win Your Attention. Every Time.
REWIND: This episode was originally released in Season 1, Episode 2. New episodes from Season 3 will drop in 2025. —Today, you’ll consume 74GB of information. That’s the equivalent of watching 16 movies. In one day.
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15:02
Why Most Activation Plans Fail and How to Fix Yours
Is your organization struggling to turn awareness into meaningful action? You’ve nailed the brand and the website, but supporters still aren’t stepping up. Why?In this episode, Eric and Jonathan tackle the critical but often overlooked c...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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40:00
Ending Low Pay in the Social Impact Sector
Low pay the social impact sector is reaching a critical point.Leaders and workers alike are grappling with the harsh realities of compensation in an industry driven by passion and purpose. But at what cost?In the latest episode of...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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30:28