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We must die to the self focused on scarcity so that we may enter into life trusting in God's abundance. This becomes the basis of real community: We each give what we have to one another. This fruitful life is not the same as a successful life, though. Fruitfulness is the gift that is given us as a result of our trust in God's presence. Fruitfulness is, in a way, the very opposite of success, of a life focused entirely on results and on our attempts to control the future according to our little views and our little survivals.

— Henry Nouwen, The Road To Peace

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Abundant Community:

We are committed to supporting the capacity of citizens to produce their own financial, relational and environmental well-being. Every neighborhood has all the gifts required to raise our children, be safe, carve out a living, be healthy, care for the vulnerable and end the isolation of all, especially the elderly. The time is right for this to occur, and all that is required is to welcome the stranger and resist the loud drumbeat of certainty. A little faith doesn’t hurt either.

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Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) is an approach to sustainable community-driven development. Beyond the mobilisation of a particular community, it is concerned with how to link micro-assets to the macro-environment. Asset Based Community Development’s premise is that communities can drive the development process themselves by identifying and mobilizing existing, but often unrecognised assets. Thereby responding to challenges and creating local social improvement and economic development.

This page will describe ABCD through five key aspects.

1. Asset Based Approach

2. Deficit Based vs Asset Based Comparison

3. Power of Associations

4. Principles for facilitating Asset Based Community Development

5. Asset Based Community Development in Practice

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Asset Based Community Development (ABCD)

Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) is an approach to sustainable community-driven development. Beyond the mobilisation of a particular community, it is concerned with how to link micro-assets to the macro-environment. Asset Based Community Development's premise is that communities can drive the development process themselves by identifying and mobilizing existing, but often unrecognised assets . Thereby responding to challenges and creating local social improvement and economic development.

This page will describe ABCD through five key aspects.

1. Asset Based Approach

2. Deficit Based vs Asset Based Comparison

3. Power of Associations

4. Principles for facilitating Asset Based Community Development

5. Asset Based Community Development in Practice

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Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) - Nurture Development

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Asset Based Community Development: communities can drive development themselves by identifying and mobilizing existing, but often unrecognised, assets.

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Jesus saw that the general human belief is that everything is limited; but he knew that this was only an externalization of limited thinking. He knew that in reality nothing is limited. All is infinite, immeasurable good.

— THE DIVINE AFFLUENCE

by MARIA SOUBIER

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THE DIVINE AFFLUENCE / Christian Science Sentinel

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The Bible includes many passages which present in metaphor and simile magnificent accounts of the affluence of God and of His abundant provision for His beloved children. One such passage occurs in the fifty-fifth chapter of Isaiah: "As the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." To people living in the dry and dusty land that Isaiah knew, rain and snow seemed indeed a gift from heaven, a beneficent, vitalizing force that turned barren stubble into fruitful harvest. And thus did the prophet envision the culmination of the unfoldment of God's Word; it would not be sterile and fruitless, but would bring prosperity and plenty. Other prophets, too, caught glimpses of the glory that would attend a fuller understanding of Deity; but none knew how to demonstrate this affluence to the extent that Christ Jesus did.

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Riches were never diminished by almsgiving: in truth, acts of charity are an excellent means of increasing one's wealth.

— Rumi, Mathnawi VI, 3567-73

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Rumi’s Masnavi - Riches were never diminished by alms-giving: in sooth, acts of charity are an excellent means of attaching (wealth) to one’s self.

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Rumi’s Masnavi - Riches were never diminished by alms-giving: in sooth, acts of charity are an excellent means of attaching (wealth) to one’s self.

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Exploring the practice of abundance in leadership and life with Sarah Steward, Chief Executive Officer at HomeFront NJ, and Bruce Jeffrey, Executive Director at Principle Foundation.

Listen to the conversation here.

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Lens on Abundance: Exploring the Practice of Abundance in Leadership and Life | Giving Lab at Tenacre Foundation

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Exploring the practice of abundance in leadership and life with Sarah Steward, Chief Executive Officer at HomeFront NJ, and Bruce Jeffrey, Executive Director at Principle Foundation.
Resource on Abundance Happy Relaxing Loop by SergeQuadradoLicense: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0

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Historical humankind has been mesmerized by the narrative of progress and civilization as codified by the first great agrarian kingdoms....In its essentials, it was an ascent of man story.  Agriculture, it held, replaced the savage, wild, primitive, lawless, and violent world of hunter-gatherers and nomads.  Fixed field crops, on the other hand, were the origin and guarantor of the settled life, of formal religion, of society, and of government by laws.  Those who refused to take up agriculture did so out of ignorance or a refusal to adapt...Each step is presumed to represent an epoch-making leap in mankind's well-being; more leisure, better nutrition, longer life expectancy, and, at long last, a settled life that promoted the household arts and the development of civilization.

It turns out that the greater part of what we might call the standard narrative has had to be abandoned once confronted with accumulating archeological evidence...Hunters and gathers have, in fact, never looked so good—in terms of their diet, their health, and their leisure.  Agriculturalists, on the contrary, have never looked so bad—in terms of their diet, their health, and their leisure.

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Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest State…

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An Economist Best History Book 2017 “History as it sh…

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"Affluence is achieved either by producing much or desiring little.  The Zen road to affluence is in desiring little...Modern economies have created scarcity not because of insufficient production, but because of unlimited wants."

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Stone Age Economics on kokoelma Marshall Sahlinsin esseitä vuodelta 1972 ja yksi talousantropologian ehdottomista klassikoista. Sahlisin tavoite on luoda antropologinen teoria primitiivisten (eli valtiottomien [laajasti ymmärrätteynä]) yhteisöjen talousjärjestelmistä. Sahlinsin hallitseva metanarratiivi on, että primitiivisissä yhteisöissä talous on vain osa moraalijärjestelmää.

Kirjan ensimmäinen teksti on myös sen kuuluisin: "The Original Affluent Society". Tässä kuuluisassa esseesä Sahlisin a...more

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Stone Age Economics on kokoelma Marshall Sahlinsin esseitä vuodelta 1972 ja yksi talousantropologian ehdottomista klassikoista. Sahlisin tavoite on luoda antropologinen teoria primitiivisten (eli valtiottomien [laajasti ymmärrätteynä]) yhteisöjen talousjärjestelmistä. Sahlinsin hallitseva metanarratiivi on, että primitiivisissä yhteisöissä talous on vain osa moraalijärjestelmää. Kirjan ensimmäinen teksti on myös sen kuuluisin: "The Original Affluent Society".

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"Abundance is seeking the beggars and the poor,
just as beauty seeks a mirror.
Beggars, then, are the mirrors of God’s abundance,
and they that are with God are united with Absolute Abundance."

— Rumi, Book I of the Masnavi

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"Mutualism is rooted in the belief that we already have what we need when we come together."

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Mutualism: Building the Next Economy from the Ground Up

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A profound look at the crisis of work and the collapse …

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"A truly liberatory future is one where social movements are not permanently dependent on philanthropy to achieve their goals. An abundance vision for philanthropy should not be defined by an attempt to live forever in relationships of supplication, but rather to create the conditions where philanthropy is no longer needed because we live in a world of shared prosperity."

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Leaning Into Abundance: What If Philanthropy’s Potential Wasn’t Limited by Manufactured Scarcity? | The Center for Effective Philanthropy

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One of the most dominant — and damaging — narratives that shapes progressive philanthropy today is a fundamentally false notion of scarcity.

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"...there is another way to get the best for this world. Yet, we’d also been taught the myth that competition is an inherently good thing, because it drives us to be more strategic in using the resources we gain access to in a system that’s based on scarcity."

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Individualism. Competition. Risk aversion. Short-termism. Scarcity. Presumed expertise. Many of the norms by which philanthropy operates perpetuate the very narratives our sector seeks to change. In this series on the CEP blog, contributors who represent a cross-section of philanthropy examine some of the common 'myths' by which philanthropy operates and ask, "what if?", offering approaches, interventions, and new visions for how philanthropy could operate for a more just world.
If you listen to the 'conventional wisdom' for business leaders, you'd probably be inclined to build an organization by first identifying its 'unique selling points' and then treating your niche as protected territory. To secure and sustain financial stability, leaders are encouraged to 'worship their turf' by focusing on what's needed to keep their own grass luscious and green, even as the ecosystem they operate in is struggling. In fact, a struggling ecosystem is treated as a welcome opportunity for financial growth through territorial expansion or monopolizing the space.

This is 'wisdom' that gave rise to philanthropy as a byproduct of the excessive wealth accumulation made possible by centuries of colonialism, racialized capitalism, and neoliberalism.

In our first roles as leaders of philanthropic institutions, our feminist politics told us that there is another way to get the best for this world. Yet, we'd also been taught the myth that competition is an inherently good thing, because it drives us to be more strategic in using the resources we gain access to in a system that's based on scarcity.

Those years were filled with many hard lessons, realizations, and enduring questions as we each unlearned behaviors that come hand-in-hand with competition and learned new ways of embracing the collective abundance we try to practice today. The uncertainty and rapid change in the current context makes these lessons even more meaningful.

Lesson 1: Stand Strong as Forests

When the three of us first met, we were working in funding institutions that many would have positioned as rivals, because both supported the activism of girls and young women. Both institutions were gaining profile during a time of plenty, enjoying the fruits of tireless advocates of girls and young people's leadership, participatory practices, and expanding global women's rights. In this context, we were also able to adopt new forms of leadership, with the aim to prove that an ethic of care was more impactful than an ethos of competition.

Similar to the ' crown shyness ' phenomenon in some tree species, we recognized each of our institution's differing roles, expertise, and networks - whether children's rights organizations, youth rights organizations, or women's funds. We gave each other space in order to form a more expansive, stronger forest. We engaged in collaboration to move millions of dollars to girl- and young feminist-led and focused groups around the world, and place adolescent girls at the center of decision making.

Scientific studies show that trees do not stand as lone giants, but rather as cooperative and interdependent communities that send each other distress signals about drought, disease, or insect attacks. Right now, the social justice ecosystem is in a time of distress as philanthropic budgets are being reduced and redirected away from women's rights programs and foundations that have been prioritizing gender justice are closing altogether.

This isn't the first time we've weathered crises. In recent years, each of us has found ourselves in a flurry of organizing and resource mobilization around different crises - from the COVID-19 pandemic to the violent conflicts in Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Palestine. With each pivot, we gather resources, ideas, knowledge, and skills, and share them as widely as possible.

On the flip side, we have witnessed situations where one actor holds information and resources in an individualistic and territorial way, and we have seen the suffering that causes people in need, as well as the larger collective.

Lesson 2: Value the Cross-Pollinators and Weavers

When we stepped down from our respective foundation leadership positions, we also stepped out of working for a single institution. The COVID-19 pandemic immediately followed, and the physical isolation of that moment encouraged the three of us to come together rather than grow apart. It was in this context that we founded Closer Than You Think.

At first, we believed our success would be built off our ability to provide insights and offerings that were only available when the three of us worked as a team. Instead, we found ourselves being drawn toward working independently and developing relationships with different types of institutions.

In navigating various hats, we found that if we were transparent about the power and access we each hold, and clear on our intentions to nourish the broader ecosystem and push organizations and movements forward, we were able to show up in more honest and authentic ways. This helped us to develop a practice where we embrace the multiple identities and roles that each of us plays with intention and accountability.

At the heart of our weaving has been meaningful partnerships with artists and unusual suspects from different sectors.

An example of this complementarity was when we launched a campaign called Remember Who Made Them to celebrate the labor and dignity of garment workers. We drew on our connections in business, movements, philanthropy, and creative industries and brought together a fair-fashion influencer, labor organizers, artists, and the world's largest independent design consultancy to create a podcast series that amplified the stories of garment workers and called for a solidarity economy. It was a collaboration that wove genuine relationships across sectors and disciplines, opened new conversations and ways of working, and avoided the instrumentalism of work, ideas, and people that often get treated as a means to an end.

Remember Who Made Them also brought messages about smashing patriarchy, labor organizing, and resisting capitalism to brand new audiences rather than preaching to the choir. This was only possible because we've made a commitment to harmonizing our individual notes.

There are some in our sector that have taken steps to recognize and fund the work of individuals who deliberately float between institutions and attend to the liminal spaces by cross-pollinating ideas and weaving relationships that create a stronger, more vibrant ecosystem. While we are careful to not fall into hero-worship, we do think there need to be more initiatives that recognize and reward the value of this work.

Lesson 3: Evolution Takes Many Paths

We are long-time believers of non-linear growth as a purposeful resistance to capitalist structures. There have been moments when we felt Closer Than You Think was not growing as fast as we hoped. But then we remember our experiences within movements and resourcing collectives, groups and organizations led by young people. There are many instances where youth-led groups grow very differently to 'traditional' organizations. It is crucial - but can be exceedingly difficult - to support these groups in the right next step for them, be it formalizing as an organization, shifting their purpose, or even dissolving.

We witnessed how many had come together over a specific issue at a moment in time, and as the moment changed, so did the factors driving their coming together. To be clear, while some groups do not want to grow or formalize their institutions - there are others that do - and struggle to get the resources they need to sustain themselves and deepen their impact in their communities.

Working with these movement-led groups has pushed us to interrogate the mainstream ideas and methods of measuring growth that prioritizes 'scaling up' and 'growing bigger' in limited time frames.

Our experiences with young people taught us to value deeper connections, more resilient networks and scaling deep over incremental growth. With these rooted foundations and understandings, we have a powerful advantage in times of crisis and uncertainty because we grow by embracing complexity, adaptability, and alternative ways of thinking. If we embrace multiple forms of growth, we can strengthen the structural integrity and resilience of our ecosystems even more.

As in Nature, Collaboration Will Strengthen Us All

Just as different tributaries have their own flow, each of us has our own starting points, histories, and experiences. Our working relationships and friendship over the years have honored the uniqueness of each of our paths. We value each other's expertise and networks and know the power of aligning our collective energies to flow together, to turn the tide, and to nurture new possibilities.

Even when resources are seemingly scarce, with some funders retreating and others behaving with a 'survival of the fittest' mentality, we remember the many examples from nature that show how competition increases vulnerability, because it reduces one's capacity to withstand environmental stress. If there was ever a time to emulate nature and build a more functional, 'leaderful' funding ecosystem, this feels like it.
Devi Leiper O'Malley, Ruby Johnson, and Swatee Deepak are co-founders of Closer Than You Think.

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Solidarity Leadership: What If Philanthropy Encouraged Collaboration Rather Than Competition? | The Center for Effective Philanthropy

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What would happen if funders prioritized collaboration - amongst themselves and nonprofit partners - over competition?

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"Supply is not outlined or limited by the figures in a bankbook or the amount of a salary. Supply is as infinite and indivisible as God Himself. We must expand our thinking. Mortal limitations are self-imposed."

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Supply as Spiritual Reflection / Christian Science Sentinel

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Man has supply because he reflects God. The first chapter of Genesis states that God made man in His own image and after His likeness. Christian Science is the glorious discovery of the great truth, namely, that man is the full and perfect expression of God. Such being the fact, man has nothing underived from God, nor can he, as God's reflection, be incomplete or lack in any degree that which God includes. Therefore, man manifests supply, and, furthermore, supply is wholly spiritual. The human mind challenges this statement. So imbued is it with the belief that supply is material, and that it comes to the individual through material channels and toilsome effort rather than from within, through spiritual discernment and divine reflection, that it seems difficult for the human consciousness to accept the statement that in reflecting Life, man reflects all that constitutes Life. Like the man in Jesus' parable who pulled down his barns and built greater, and said to his soul, "Thou hast much goods laid up for many years," mortals seek security in material possessions, only to find them fleeting, insecure, and illusory. Then they believe themselves to be in lack. Every manifestation of lack is but an illusion of fear, of ignorance, or of sin.

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"The divine economy is stable—a continuous flow of spiritual good—not chaotic or unpredictable."

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Mention banks and Wall Street, and conversations on the economy often gravitate to its greedy, immoral, and unscrupulous aspects. Or, they may bring up fears of unpredictability, even volatility, along with a gloomy outlook of lack. Yet the oldest definition of the word economy has to do with responsibility, stability, and lawfulness. The word comes from the Greek oikonomia, meaning "management of a household." The Scriptures associate management of a house or household with wisdom: "Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established" ( Proverbs 24:3). This assures us that wisdom gives us the insight and inspiration to manage all our affairs and activities effectively.

Jesus takes this a step further, indicating that a spiritual understanding of his teachings is the wisdom that erects and maintains this "house" in a stable and harmonious way: "Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock" ( Matthew 7:24). Jesus said this at the conclusion of his Sermon on the Mount, his instructional teachings on love. So an individual who adheres to these teachings is a wise man who manages his house or economy on the basis of Christ's teachings-on the laws of divine Love.

Mary Baker Eddy recognized that all effective church work begins from this basis. She included the following By-Law in the Manual of The Mother Church: "God requires wisdom, economy, and brotherly love to characterize all the proceedings of the members of The Mother Church, The First Church of Christ, Scientist" ( p. 77). This goes beautifully hand in hand with Jesus' teachings on the subject. And it states that "God requires" this of us; in other words, the demand is divine, not human.

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Finding security in the divine economy / Christian Science Sentinel

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Mention banks and Wall Street, and conversations on the economy often gravitate to its greedy, immoral, and unscrupulous aspects. Or, they may bring up fears of unpredictability, even volatility, along with a gloomy outlook of lack. Yet the oldest definition of the word economy has to do with responsibility, stability, and lawfulness.

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"Degrowth begins as a process of taking less. But in the end it opens up whole vistas of possibility. It moves us from scarcity to abundance, from extraction to regeneration, from dominion to reciprocity, and from loneliness and separation to connection with a world that's fizzing with life."

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Less Is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World

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The world has finally awoken to the reality of climate …

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"The idea was that when faced with abundance one should consume abundantly – an idea that has survived to become the basis of our present economy. It is neither natural nor civilized, and even from a 'practical' point of view it is to the last degree brutalizing and stupid."

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The World-Ending Fire: The Essential Wendell Berry

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In a time when our relationship to the natural world is…

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“God is the Being who brings into existence all things, and there is no end to His giving.”

— Ibn ʿArabī

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“God gives you His spiritual ideas, and in turn, they give you daily supplies. Never ask for tomorrow: it is enough that divine Love is an ever-present help; and if you wait, never doubting, you will have all you need every moment.”

— Mary Baker Eddy, Miscellaneous Writings

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"Community is built by focusing on gifts rather than deficiencies, on association rather than isolation, and on generosity rather than fear."

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Community has 818 ratings and 104 reviews. Kristine said: I have read (and used) Peter Block's book Flawless Consulting over the years and the epiphany i...

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Explore the theme of generosity in the Bible with this BibleProject video (5mins).

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In the story of the Bible, God is depicted as a generous host who provides for the needs of his guests. However, humans live from a mindset of scarcity and hoard God's many gifts. In this video, we explore God's plan for overcoming our selfishness by giving the ultimate gift of himself in the person of Jesus.

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God is a generous god, but throughout the Bible, humans hoard God's good gifts. In this video, we look at how to live by God's generous example.

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Explore the theme of generosity and abundance in the Bible with BibleProject Podcast Series.

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Generosity is really important in the biblical story, as well as a vital part of everyday lived experience. How is this connected to scarcity, abundance, anxiety, and trust?

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"Whatever we seem to lack, or fear we might lack in the future, is a “right idea” that is forever found in God and that we always include and reflect as God’s image."

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Lacking nothing / Christian Science Sentinel

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Whatever we seem to lack, or fear we might lack in the future, is a “right idea” that is forever found in God and that we always include and reflect as God’s image.

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"Abundance is the awareness that what we need is already within us and between us."

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The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natu…

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From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Braid…