In challenging times, abundance isn’t about having more. It’s about defending what matters most.
Recently, I met with an Executive Director I’ll call Susan. She had been in her role just a few months when the funding landscape shifted in a way that couldn’t be ignored. This wasn’t a temporary disruption—it was a permanent change that forced hard decisions forward.
Susan reviewed the financials and knew layoffs were coming. She also knew her team would struggle—not from lack of commitment, but because uncertainty makes all of us reach for what feels familiar.
And she understood something that sat heavily with her.
She hadn’t been hired to protect the status quo.
She had been hired to ensure the organization could endure and continue serving its community.
Standing in that tension, Susan designed a pathway forward that protected the mission.
Today, I want to share what she did, why it mattered, and how you can move through difficult seasons with the same steadiness if you’re facing something similar.
When Susan was hired a few months back, the Board was transparent from the start. A major funding source—the backbone of the organization’s budget—was going to expire at the end of the year, permanently.
The Board was searching for a new Executive Director with a strong backbone to make drastic changes to the staffing and financial structure.
As we all know, no one tells us how hard it is to transform an organization, but my friend is brave and accepted the challenge eyes wide open, because she aligned so strongly with the mission.
When Susan had been in the role for just a few weeks, she and I met for coffee. And we talked about how important it is for nonprofit leaders to get out of a scarcity mindset.
She told me, “When I first arrived, I started seeing cracks in the system everywhere. My scarcity mindset kicked in, and I could feel my creativity shrinking. I wasn’t thinking clearly about solutions. I was just reacting to the pressure of high expectations.”
Then she said, “I realized that if I wanted to solve hard funding problems, I had to shift into an abundance mindset. Not because things were easy, but because abundance is what gives you access to creativity and innovative ideas when the decisions are hard.”
That told me everything about where Susan was as a leader. I was so impressed by her.
She wasn’t ignoring fear and constraint. She was consciously trying to think in a different way that allowed her to think, create, and solve challenging issues.
Instead of rushing to decisions or ignoring reality, she told me that she went to the data to inform which risks to take. She looked at the budget with fresh eyes. She examined the program numbers without flinching or looking away.
And then she made a deliberate choice. She centered the organization around what she called the defensible core.
The defensible core is a leadership strategy for moments when the margin for error disappears. It’s the act of stripping an organization down to the studs – what is truly vital – so the mission itself remains protected.
In Susan’s case, this was not a season for extras. It was not a season for expansion or aspirational roles.
It was a season for essentials.
She looked closely at where the organization was making its strongest community impact.
Every program, every role, every expense went through a single, steady question: does this directly support that impact?
If the answer was no, it needed to be released.
Letting go was painful. There was pushback. There was grief. And there was also transparency. Susan explained the decisions clearly and compassionately, not to justify herself, but to honor the truth of the moment.
These choices were not about contraction for its own sake. They were about creating the conditions and taking smart risks (based on data) for the organization to continue serving the people who relied on it.
What impressed me just as much as what Susan did was how she carried herself while doing it.
Because moments like this almost always invite a scarcity mindset.
Scarcity whispers quietly. It says, “We can’t afford to make a mistake,” or “If we let this go, we’ll never recover.” It narrows perspective. It shortens time horizons. It encourages leaders to grip tightly to what feels known, even when it’s no longer sustainable.
Susan noticed that our scarcity mindset pulls at us, because that’s what our monkey brains do. So when that happens (and it happens to all of us), the important thing is to notice it, thank our brains for trying to protect us, and then keep leading forward with the courage to create and innovate our way forward.
She said to me, “Nonprofit leaders have to lead with an abundance mindset, even when everything around them suggests otherwise. And that’s hard, because even the word ‘nonprofit’ implies lack.”
She laughed as I told her about my good friend who wants to eliminate the word ‘nonprofit’ altogether and replace it with “social impact organization” across our sector. She said, “When that happens, you can rename your podcast to Social Impact SPARK.”
But underneath the humor was something serious.
Susan understood that pulling back to the defensible core could come from positive intention.
Abundance, especially in our “nonprofit” world, is often misunderstood.
It doesn’t mean denying financial reality. It doesn’t mean assuming more funding will magically appear (although let’s keep an open mind that it is possible, because it is.).
And it doesn’t mean pretending loss and cutbacks don’t hurt.
Abundance can mean believing that even within constraint, there are still choices to be made. There is still a sharp focus on the health of your mission and community. There is still agency to explore new opportunities for growth and impact.
Constraint does not erase possibility.
An abundance mindset can be a leadership tool to shape the climate of an organization.
Here’s the analogy. Funding ups & downtowns are weather. They can be severe. They can force you into shelter. But the mindset you lead with determines the climate your team experiences while the storm moves through.
Scarcity creates a cold, tightening climate. People brace themselves. Energy contracts. Fear travels quickly.
Abundance—even during reduction—creates steadiness. When people understand the reasoning, they start to trust the direction. They can feel supported, even when the outcomes are difficult.
With that mindset in place, Susan didn’t rush forward. She moved deliberately and accessed creative, abundant ways of thinking. And she followed a simple, disciplined path.
3 Steps to Move from Nonprofit Survival to Smart Growth
- Assess data to take smart risks
First, she assessed the data to take smart risks. Not just the budget, but the full picture. Program participation. Outcomes. Cost relative to impact. She looked honestly at where the organization was creating meaningful change and where effort wasn’t translating into results.
She faced the financial deficit directly. Not to assign fault, but to understand reality. This grounded every decision that followed.
- Protect the defensible core.
Second, she stripped the organization down to the defensible core. This was the most difficult step.
She released anything—and anyone—not directly tied to impact across programs, direct services, operations, and fundraising. She paid special attention to the areas where the numbers were most uncomfortable.
When deficits are large, half-measures don’t hold. Protecting the mission required decisiveness. The defensible core became the center everything else had to earn its place around.
- Adopt an abundance mindset to access creative growth pathways.
Third, she adopted an abundance mindset on purpose. Once the core was protected, her posture shifted. Instead of dwelling on what had been lost, she began asking what was now possible.
With fewer distractions and sharper focus, new opportunities emerged. Partnerships aligned more naturally. Funding conversations became more purposeful. The remaining team understood exactly why their work mattered.
Abundance didn’t remove hardship. It created movement to go for growth.
Confident nonprofit leaders don’t pretend storms aren’t happening. They take shelter when needed. They steady the ship. They check direction carefully. And then they move forward with intention.
Data is your compass. The defensible core is the harbor. And abundance is the decision to sail again when the moment is right.
🔌 SPARK Plug Shift
Here’s your SPARK Plug Shift for this week.
If you find yourself in a defensible core season, pause long enough to ask two steady questions.
Will this pullback do what is needed to make an impact in more focused (less scattered) ways?
And what data can we use to take smart risks – where should you invest next—your time, your energy, or your resources?
You don’t need a full plan yet. You don’t need 100% certainty as a risk may not work out.
You only need to clarify the next right move for your organization—and lead it with care and integrity.
That may include going back to your most trusted financial supporters, funders, or donors and being open about where you are. Sometimes abundance shows up through honest conversation and shared commitment, especially as you move toward a season of revitalization.
Remember—storms pass. But the climate you create as a leader, especially in hard seasons, lasts much longer.
And if you’re finding it hard to see clearly right now—if you feel too close to the challenge, or you’re carrying decisions that are expensive, emotional, or high-stakes—you don’t have to sort that out alone.
That’s exactly why I created the 90-minute Burnout to Boundaries Strategy Session.
It’s a quiet, focused space to step back, talk through what the defensible core could look like for your organization, and regain perspective with someone who understands nonprofit leadership, because I’ve been in defensible core seasons too. I share my personal leadership story at CultureCARES.com/11.
If support would be helpful for you, schedule at CultureCARES.com under the Burnout to Boundaries tab.
Until next time, lead with intention, protect your energy, and trust your capacity to navigate what’s next.