Meet an innoFaither, inspiration
Danielle Goldstone
Meet an innoFaither: Rayce Lamb

Meet Rayce Lamb, Founder of Faithonomics and Baptist pastor seeking to inspire wild imagination. Rayce, who is also a certified financial education instructor, is passionate about supporting faith-rooted leaders to flourish spiritually and financially while pursuing creative ideas for good. He has just launched the Doers Creative, a digital community for faith-inspired creators, and also leads the Wild Imagination Fund, which seeks to eradicate poverty in his home city of Winston-Salem, NC.

Meet an innoFaither: Rayce Lamb
research, ideas, inspiration, theology, report
Danielle Goldstone
Faith to confront society's biggest challenges: ...

In January, the World Economic Forum released a report, Faith in Action: Religion and Spirituality in the Polycrisis, arguing for the relevance of religion and spirituality in a time of complex, intersecting, global social challenges. It features several examples of collaboration between business and faith-based organizations to address some of these challenges, as well as important insights and lessons for faith, business, and other leaders. It is an invitation to forge more multi-sector collaborations that leverage the wisdom and assets of faith to drive impact at scale.

Faith to confront society's biggest challenges: A report from the World Economic Forum
Meet an innoFaither, inspiration
Danielle Goldstone
Meet an innoFaither: Marcia Dinkins

Meet Marcia Dinkins, Founder and Executive Director of Black Women Rising and creator of the Black Appalachian Coalition. Based in Ottawa Hills, OH, Marcia is elevating Black voices to help drive positive change. In Appalachia, where Black stories are particularly invisible in the narrative of poverty in the region, Marcia is engaging the Black community to tell their stories and advocate for solutions to regional issues like air pollution and healthcare access.

Meet an innoFaither: Marcia Dinkins
book, ideas, inspiration, theology
Danielle Goldstone
Insights for Change: Liberate leadership from ...

Like every institution in the 21st century, religion today confronts existential questions about its future, uncertain of its place in an era where trust in institutions has eroded and traditional hierarchical organizational structures have started to flatten. The formerly reliable foundations of our religious life feel insecure–for no one more than clergy, who are largely trained to be solo, prophetic leaders of congregations. But in this uncertainty lies possibility. A new book by two religious leaders, Rev. Kathleen McShane and Rabbi Elan Babchuck, will help clergy, and all faith-rooted leaders, embrace the liberating opportunity this current moment provides. It’s time to adopt a new form of leadership, free of the burdens of pyramid-shaped empire that have shaped our past. 

Insights for Change: Liberate leadership from the pyramid
research
Danielle Goldstone
Mapping Spiritual Innovation: innoFaith ...

innoFaith is excited to be partnering with Chaplaincy Innovation Lab, Glean Network, and other partners on a national field study on spiritual innovation for social impact.

Mapping Spiritual Innovation: innoFaith co-launches a national field study

Reconciling old and new power: In the era of networks, do institutions still have a role?

Reconciling old and new power: In the era of networks, do institutions still have a role?

We are living through a tectonic shift in power dynamics. With the evolution of digital technology and globalization, people all over the world have access to information and opportunity at an unprecedented scale. The promise and potential of a world where power can no longer be monopolized by an elite few is thrilling for the possibilities it creates for greater equality. But what might be lost in the process? In the era of networks, do institutions still have a role to play? Greg Jones at Duke Divinity School has been exploring the potential of Christian social innovation and the questions it surfaces.

CNN Names Social Innovators Rami Nashashibi and Eboo Patel two of the Most Influential American Muslims

CNN Names Social Innovators Rami Nashashibi and Eboo Patel two of the Most Influential American Muslims

Eboo Patel, founder of Interfaith Youth Core, and Rami Nashashibi, founder of the Inner-City Muslim Action Network, were recently named by CNN as two of the 25 most influential American Muslims, among other Muslim pioneers. Hear them tell stories that inspire them to do the work they do.

Remembering our innovative past: a look at the Catholic Church

Remembering our innovative past: a look at the Catholic Church

Faith communities, historically, have been responsible for some of the world's most significant social innovations. Many people today are asking, "what happened?" In this article in America Magazine, Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry examines the Catholic Church in particular and doesn't hold back. What happened to the Church that introduced social welfare, the hospital, agricultural technology, and more world-changing innovations in Roman times and beyond? Have we lost our boldness of vision? Have we become complacent? Have we settled for good intentions? We are children of an abundantly creative God with a mandate to advance the transformative work of God here on earth. Are we acting like it?

Let's talk about death: How faith leaders are stepping up to help lead a critical culture shift

Let's talk about death: How faith leaders are stepping up to help lead a critical culture shift

Did you know only a third of Americans have documented their wishes for the end of their lives? And only 19% of black adults over 64 have done so. Faith leaders, trained to spiritually support and counsel the dying and their loved ones, have a better vantage point than most on the stress, anxiety, guilt, not to mention financial challenges and pressure on both families and the medical system that this lack of preparation creates. We don't like to talk about death, but not doing so has numerous ramifications on our well-being as individuals, as families, and as a society.

How technology can enable a vision as big as the Catholic Church

How technology can enable a vision as big as the Catholic Church

Understanding available assets is the first step to opening up new opportunities for innovation. Technology continually makes mapping of such assets easier at scale, putting critical data at our fingertips. And speaking of scale, the Catholic Church is one of the largest private landowners in the world. Recognizing the latent potential in this massive resource, Molly Burhans is leveraging new technology to map the land assets of the Catholic Church and create new ways to channel them for social good. Read more about her bold work in this article from The Boston Globe.

Beyond Prayer: Heber Brown Sparking Movement with the Black Church Food Security Network

Beyond Prayer: Heber Brown Sparking Movement with the Black Church Food Security Network

Baltimore pastor Rev. Heber Brown is sparking a movement with his Black Church Security Network, an initiative he started after seeking to do "something beyond prayer" to support his community members wrestling with health and diet issues. Rev. Brown is engaging churches in planting fresh produce on their own land as well as connecting them to black farmers, ultimately seeking to position churches to further equity in the food system.

Innovative philanthropy enables impact that is greater than the sum of its parts

Innovative philanthropy enables impact that is greater than the sum of its parts

Social innovation requires an enabling ecosystem, and one of the key players in that ecosystem is the philanthropic sector. Innovative philanthropists can help empower individual organizations to take risks while fostering collective impact in the process. With their faith under attack, one group of American Muslims and their allies are organizing to support Muslim change-makers who are creating solutions in their communities. In the process, they're reshaping perceptions of Islam in America. Read about Pillars Fund and their new approach to faith-based philanthropy in this article from Buzzfeed.

Rooted in context and beliefs on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, a community transforms itself

Rooted in context and beliefs on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, a community transforms itself

Social innovation requires deep contextual understanding to shape solutions that will have a sustainable impact. In this story in the Huffington Post, listen to Nick Tilsen talk about how he rooted himself in his home community on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and is helping the community create its own future, deeply connected to its own history and spirituality.

Real family values: how churches are helping keep families together

Real family values: how churches are helping keep families together

Faith communities have often stepped in when government welfare systems fail to support people in need. The role and responsibility of government in social welfare is a worthy and critical debate. But what happens if we engage faith communities to collectively create a solution rather than just react to system failures. In the case of Safe Families for Children, you get an alternative to the perpetually troubled foster care system for temporary family separation situations. Read this story from Forbes.com to learn more.

Innovation within one of the world's oldest institutions in response to the refugee crisis

Innovation within one of the world's oldest institutions in response to the refugee crisis

Crisis migration caused by violence and persecution has sparked a wave of new ideas and approaches as the world seeks to respond to the challenge of a growing global population of forcibly displaced persons and refugees - over 65 million persons according to UNHCR. This story from the National Catholic Reporter discusses a recent report released by FADICA (Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities), which looks at how Catholic groups are using social innovation approaches to address this challenge. The report illustrates how a 2,000-year-old institution like the Catholic Church can connect tradition with innovation to bring new ideas to bear on today's global challenges. Spoiler alert: Catholic sisters are driving much of the innovation.

One urban congregation's bold response to homelessness

One urban congregation's bold response to homelessness

Urban faith institutions often find themselves on the front lines of issues of homelessness and affordable housing in their communities. This story from Faith and Leadership about the innovative work of a congregation in Detroit shows how an asset-based perspective can change the focus from reacting to a need to creating a transformative solution. Stay tuned for more stories of how faith institutions are reimagining their role in the housing sector.

Welcome to innoFaith!

Welcome to innoFaith!

Hello and welcome to innoFaith! We’re building a network of people and institutions of faith that seek to inspire and enable our communities to engage in the world in innovative ways to help humanity thrive. We are rooted in sacred traditions that we know have great wisdom to offer modern society. We also know that a fast changing world requires us to adopt new frameworks and methods for engaging with complex social problems. We want to make faith and the assets of our communities and institutions a powerful force for social innovation, one worthy of the challenges our societies face in the 21st century.