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Designing Tomorrow: Creative Strategies for Social Impact

by Eric Ressler

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Latest episodes

Ambition vs. Fake Urgency

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Most urgent fundraising appeals aren't truly urgent, and supporters can feel it. Constant false alarms erode donor trust, burn out teams, and leave nothing in reserve for the moments that really need a response. Ambitious work can move…
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Is It Burnout or Lost Motivation?

October 13, 2026 · 26 min

Executive directors are expected to stay fired up all the time, and almost none of them do. Five years into leading the Seymour Center and fresh off a major milestone, Jonathan has hit a motivation slump. The conversation covers how to…
Museums Can Be a Force for Social Change

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Plenty of people still picture a museum as a quiet building with art on the walls and a staff whose job is to guard what's inside. Victoria Munro, Executive Director of the Alice Austen House, sees an advantage in that assumption: because…
What to Take and Leave From Design Thinking and the Scientific Method

September 29, 2026 · 33 min

Social impact teams are happy to experiment. Where they struggle is admitting when the experiment fails. Jonathan and I dig into what design thinking and the scientific method can teach the sector, and why our refusal to name failure may…

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Learning Isn't What's Slowing Philanthropy Down

September 22, 2026 · 48 min

Philanthropy takes heat for being slow to move money, and learning usually gets the blame. Katherine Haugh, founder of the Convive Collective and a learning partner to some of the largest climate-focused philanthropies in the US and…
Your Difference Is the Superpower

September 15, 2026 · 49 min

Sandy Gould has spent 36 years studying where people's "superpowers" come from, and his answer is simple: the thing that makes you different is the same thing that lets you create what no one else can. In this conversation with Eric…
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September 8, 2026 · 44 min

Every leader in the social impact space has failures. But we rarely talk about them. We brush over them, reframe them, paper over them. Michelle Moog-Koussa thinks that's a mistake. She built the Bob Moog Foundation from $15,000 and a…
If Only They Got Us, They'd Fund Us

September 1, 2026 · 40 min

Every nonprofit leader has told themselves the same story: if funders just understood us, they'd fund us. Eric and Jonathan make the uncomfortable case that misunderstood impact is usually a you problem, and that what looks like a…
Don't Coast on Your Momentum

August 25, 2026 · 33 min

Most leaders know how to fight through a crisis. Almost nobody's ready for the moment things start working. That's where Jonathan finds himself. Five years into running the Seymour Center, the survival years behind him. Funding's solid…
You Design Your Culture. Here's How

August 18, 2026 · 35 min

Is culture something you design, or does it emerge from the people you hire? I think you design it, through the decisions you make every day. Jonathan thinks it starts with the people and grows from there. The more we talked, the more the…
Decisions Are Being Made For Us, Not With Us

August 11, 2026 · 47 min

Two camps are forming around AI in the social impact space. One says boycott it. The other says you're already behind. Meanwhile, the biggest decisions are being made without us. Kaz McGrath and Stephen Silveira of Play (PLAI…

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About the show

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/ Designing Tomorrow is a registered trademark of Design By Cosmic, Inc.