from The Chronicle of Philanthropy:

Purpose Is a Terrible Thing to Waste

… Nonprofit organizations need to find ways to close the compensation gap to tap into the passion and purpose of potential employees. One option is to borrow from academe, government, and private think tanks by creating sponsored fellowships and tie those fellowships to innovation.

Charities could raise money to fund an individual or group of individuals to brainstorm new approaches to addressing the organization’s cause. Give the fellows the resources and access to all the information they need to think and act creatively, dissect the problem, and develop a new set of solutions.

The Innovation Void

Most nonprofit organizations have not institutionally embraced innovation; they lack a dedicated group whose sole focus is to brainstorm and develop creative new solutions or breakthrough approaches.

Instead, nonprofit organizations are structured and managed to optimize costs, minimize overhead, and attract new donors.