For the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of helping nonprofit leaders realize there’s more opportunity, alignment, and funding available than they might realize—if they know where and how to find it. I’ve loved being a source of energy and hope for the folks trying to save us all from ourselves.
Capitalism is a wholly destructive force. But it’s very good at generating concentrated wealth. Wealth that’s more than enough to drive the changes we’re trying to achieve, so long as we can mobilize it towards the things that matter. Scarcity has been a function of skill, policy, and power, not resources.
Since the election, I no longer believe that’s true. The assault on the funding available for education, health, human rights, privacy–everything that matters–means we’re dealing with actual scarcity. Many of our peer and partner organizations will not find the resources they need to continue…as they are.
You need to make a hard distinction: your job is not your work. Your organization is not your purpose. If your work—your real mission—has a better shot at surviving and scaling through merger, shared infrastructure, or a new title at someone else’s table, that’s not loss. That’s strategy, strength, and resilience.
Our sector values decentralization and local leadership. We find power through coalition, not consolidation. Too often, that reverence keeps us siloed, with duplicative costs. Right now, small teams are burning through their budgets in isolation. Founders are tying their mission too tightly to a job title or a brand.
Find somewhere where you can burn through $10M while you’re figuring out what to do, rather than the $500K you have left. This isn’t about giving up. It’s about staying in the fight—smarter, stronger, and together.
Geoffrey MacDougall 