Moving from Scarcity to Generosity

Organizations have a long history of being stingy—with time, money, and other resources. In the nonprofit sector, this often shows up as:

• Conditional giving

• Self-sacrifice and martyrdom

• Unfair expectations

• Isolation, competition, arrogance, and condescension

• A fixation on problems

• Denying people space to learn and grow

• Scarcity thinking and chronic cheapness

But what if we reoriented our leadership and organizational cultures around generosity—giving freely and lovingly, grounded in trust and respect?

Generosity is not about:

• Expecting something in return

• Being “nice” at the expense of honesty

• Avoiding boundaries

• Compromising your values or dreams

• Elevating others by diminishing yourself

• People pleasing

Instead, generosity means:

• Genuinely wanting the best for others

• Creating space for growth, healing, and thriving

• Trusting in the goodness of people’s intentions

• Honoring each person’s story and desires

• Listening to understand, not to reply

• Resisting the urge to control

• Freely sharing ideas, credit, and resources

Albert Camus once said, “Too many have dispensed with generosity in order to practice charity.”

Let’s reverse that. Let’s center generosity—not as an afterthought or a luxury, but as a foundational way of being. This is how we begin to build the world we dream is possible.