Tackling the Scarcity Mentality

The other day, a friend sent me a screenshot of an organization that appeared to have “copied” one of Veterans Collaborative’s programs. I get questions like this often.

Here’s the truth: it doesn’t bother me.

Because what we do isn’t about owning ideas — it’s about building ecosystems that work.

From the beginning, we’ve intentionally partnered to broaden impact. We’ve gone directly to universities to name gaps in entrepreneurship programming — especially the lack of support for social entrepreneurship, which is deeply prevalent in the Veteran and military-connected community. We’ve reached out to organizations that talk about ecosystems and collective impact — including some of the very same organizations people later flag to me as “competition.”

We’ve had some twists along the way— some sting, like pitching a program for a national conferences only to watch the idea to repackaged by people who aren’t actually about ecosystem-building at all. They’re about control. About being the hub. About credit, brand, and visibility.

That’s scarcity mentality.

And it’s not new.

Power players often operate this way — not because it works, but because it preserves their power. Sharing feels threatening. Collaboration feels risky. And so they dominate instead of distribute, extract instead of invest.

But here’s the difference:
Our work is open.

Mission Forward: Veteran Nonprofit Leaders Circle.
Veteran Resource RADAR.
Veteran Labs sparked with corporations.

These are free, accessible, and designed to lift many, not centralize around one.

Our numbers speak for themselves. And if others truly had our “spin,” we’d see more than talk — we’d see:

• More local funding reaching smaller organizations

• More partnerships that actually include emerging leaders

• More advocacy, not gatekeeping

• More inclusion, not consolidation

Instead, we often see the same players, the same partners, the same closed loops — just rebranded.

We’ve had organizations come to us “to partner,” only to work behind closed doors to line their own pockets and interests. Others have asked us to fold under them so they could be “the hub.”

Hard pass.

We share generously — and we protect what we build. Both can be true.

What’s different for me is this: I don’t live in scarcity. Some leaders in this space absolutely do. They are more concerned with their star, their brand, and their dominance than with actually doing what works for Veterans, services members, and families.

That’s not leadership. And frankly, it’s one of the reasons progress stalls in this sector.

I said this plainly on a recent panel when asked about challenges in the Veteran nonprofit space: too many people are trying to run nonprofits like Fortune 500 companies without understanding the landscape they’re serving, the people they should be impacting. They’re too busy growing to serve, and the numbers show it.

So what do you do? Let them.

You keep your head down.
You let the work speak.
You build quietly, consistently, and with integrity.

People who are unoriginal can never really take what’s yours — because they don’t have the values, the trust, or the long-game mindset to sustain it.

Go where you are wanted.

It is the privilege — and responsibility — of leaders to choose who they do business with. Real partnership is built on trust. When values align, the work is magic.

And for those who get it — stay close.

Because 2026 is here, and we’re building what lasts — with people who are truly dedicated.