We’re living in a moment where generosity feels harder than ever.
Households are tightening belts.
Economic uncertainty is stretching families thin.
Inflation, housing pressures, interest rates—it’s all hitting at once. And across Australia, and beyond, charitable giving is feeling the squeeze.
It’s not just anecdotal.
According to recent data, fewer people are giving, and those who still do are spreading their dollars across more causes. That means nonprofits—especially the small-to-medium ones—are scrambling. Scrambling to stay visible, stay relevant, stay funded.
And yet, in the middle of all this chaos, I keep coming back to one idea:
Kindness isn’t soft. It’s strategic.
Let me take you into a story that’s stuck with me.
A few years ago, I heard about a nonprofit organisation that was faced with the real-life challenge to raise funds quickly or to close their doors for good. It was COVID. Government funding had dried up for this organisation. There was panic. There was desperation.
When I heard about this nonprofit, my heart was moved because of the work they do: care for severely disabled children.
I contacted the CEO and offered to help. I explained how I could help – but whilst she recognised that it all sounded really great, there was no money to hire us.
Not a problem. I can help on a pro-bono basis. And I did. So how did I help?
I got them to think like an entrepreneur.
We mapped donor journeys like a start-up maps its customer funnel.
We used automation—not to replace the human touch, but to free up space for deeper, more personal engagement.
We started tracking what stories resonated.
We segmented audiences based on their interests and history. We fixed their website that didn’t just tell people what we did—it made them feel part of it.
This wasn’t a tech revolution. It wasn’t even that complex. It was just intentional.
And it worked.
Not overnight. But almost. In just 3 weeks of effort, their revenue increased. Their donor base grew to a level never seen before. They started to attract younger givers—not just out of sympathy, but out of shared purpose.
They didn’t become less kind. They became more sustainable. And in doing so, they became more kind—because they were able to keep showing up.
I ended up raising $1.2million for this charity in just 3 weeks. Doors went from closing to staying widely open. To this day, this result humbles me…whilst making me hungry for even more.
That’s the power of kindness with strategy.
See, in the nonprofit world, we often treat business thinking like it’s the villain in our origin story. We worry that talking about strategy makes us cold. That using digital tools makes us impersonal. That chasing sustainability makes us less faithful.
But here’s the thing: generosity without strategy is like planting seeds in concrete. Beautiful intention, zero growth.
Entrepreneurial thinking isn’t about chasing profits. It’s about creating systems that support purpose. It’s about making sure your kindness doesn’t just flicker—it fuels a fire that can keep burning.
And in today’s climate, that kind of fire matters more than ever.
Because people still care.
People still want to give.
But they’re more cautious.
More discerning.
More likely to support organisations that honour their gift with clear impact, smart communication, and a genuine sense of relationship.
That’s what entrepreneurs do. They solve real problems in creative, scalable ways. And if there’s any sector that needs that mindset—it’s the one trying to heal, uplift, and rebuild.
So let me say this clearly:
Nonprofits don’t need to be more corporate. But they do need to be more entrepreneurial.
That means taking risks.
Trying new things.
Listening to data and gut.
It means holding your mission tightly—but your methods loosely.
It means being willing to pivot, to test, to fail fast and learn faster.
Most of all, it means remembering that kindness isn’t the opposite of strategy. It’s the reason for it.
So if you’re tired of feeling like your good work is always under threat—start thinking like an entrepreneur. Start designing your generosity like it’s meant to last.
Because it is.