Scarcity mindset to Abundant mindset

“There is no real investment in nonprofit.”

“Only a handful of people who have leftovers donate to nonprofits.”

These are the words usually thrown at nonprofit leaders on a daily basis.
As a result, scarcity thinking became pervasive. It has led leaders to believe that
resources are scarce. It created a starvation cycle wherein nonprofit leaders skip
on good staffs and systems to preserve money they think they cannot let go of,
because of the belief that they can no longer gain more. They opt to cater to
fewer clients to save some money. This thought leads to low quality staff and
system and lesser societal impact.

This kind of downward thinking has to stop. Remember that you attract
what you think and you receive what you are ready for. So, let go of this
scarcity thinking. Choose instead to believe that there are a great number of
resources for your nonprofit. The world is never short of people who would like
to extend help. You just need to set your goals for the future first. Thereafter,
you have to think of the steps you need to take to reach those goals. Once you
have a clear vision for your nonprofit and you have a firm grasp of the process
to get there, the resources will come to you.

The mindset of a leader plays an important role in reaching his nonprofit’s

goal. Change the mindset of scarcity to abundance, and the playing field will
change. Instead of worrying about the scarce resource of money, think instead
of a strategic plan to raise money. Put your energy into determining the kind of
staff or system you will need to employ to encourage donors and other
benefactors to invest to your nonprofit. Your enthusiasm in locating sources will
give confidence to your board, staff and donors. This will surely lead to you,
gaining more for your nonprofit.

Scarcity mindset would always tell you to remove some staff to cut loss or
to secure just an average donor database to save money. However, an abundant
mindset would tell you to invest in your fundraising infrastructure and hire the
best staff money can buy. You may think twice in spending money but this is a
necessary risk you need to take in order to become successful. If you want to
raise money, you must be willing to spend some to make certain improvements.
Soon you will realize that these upgrades, when done right, will give you more
than what you have paid for.
 Scarcity mindset would lead you to believe that you can never have a
reserve fund. That isn’t true. An abundant mindset will never accept that you
can only breakeven. You can do more than just having a nonprofit income
statement showing inconsiderable net income. Have at least a reserve fund that
can last you three to six months of operations. This way, the nonprofit leader
would feel secured. Also, a robust reserve fund is attractive to donors who see
that your nonprofit is sustainable.

Scarcity mindset would tell you that there are just not enough hours in a
day to get all your work done. But, an abundant mindset will remind you that
you can utilize other people and tap on organizations with similar goals as you.
A scenario wherein a nonprofit refuses to work with other organizations because
it sees them as competition against limited funds is possible when you are still
caged in the starvation cycle. Break free from this thinking. Find people,
organizations and network having the same goals as you. Connect with them
and finds ways on how you can work hand in hand to attain larger gains.
Remember that unity is strength. When there is teamwork and collaboration,
wonderful things can be achieved.

Scarcity mindset will always tell you to limit your goals because of the
difficult political climate. But having an abundant mindset will see this
challenging political climate to engage new people in new ways.

It cannot be denied that nonprofit leaders encounter complications and

troubles on a daily basis. It is up to them to either treat them as limitations to
what they can achieve or opportunities to further improve. Whatever challenges
they may encounter, as long as they have an abundant mindset, nothing is
impossible.