Alvin Toffler died only recently, but the dizziness people will feel that he described in his book “Future Shock” will continue to be felt. And, that includes the nonprofit world. Fundraisers and marketers will need to be nimble and adaptive.

During the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) Not-For-Profit Industry Conference, Susan Raymond of Changing Our World said that the modifications to which organizations must adapt are occurring in a wide range of areas.

Gender is a good example. Raymond offered the following:

* Today’s 60-year-old woman received her BA in 1970 when 45 percent of girls graduating from high school went on to college. Today, nearly three-quarters go on to college;
* Women now make up 43 percent of the top wealth holders with gross assets of $1.5 million or more;
* The percentage of married households in which a wife’s income exceeds that of her husband was 4 percent in 1970, in 2007, 22 percent; in 2011, 38 percent;
* 41 percent of all firms in the U.S. are owned by women. They employ 12.8 million workers;
* One out of 11 women owns her own business and employs one out of seven workers. That number has grown at twice the rate of privately held firms in the last 20 years. If these firms were a country, they would rank just behind Germany in economic size; and,
* Women globally have the ability to give $1 trillion per year.