We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits 674. Shift 4 — Capacity Isn’t Extra: Build Your Foundation for Sustainable Growth - Brooke Richie-Babbage
Stability isn’t something you earn once you’re “big enough” or “finally staffed up.” It’s something you design on purpose—or you pay for it later in burnout, panic fundraising, and house-of-cards vibes.
In this episode, Brooke Richie-Babbage is back to flip the script on what capacity really means. Capacity is about changing the conditions under which your work happens, so the how of the work gets easier, less fragile + way more sustainable.
We’re talking broken mugs, creaky floors, cash cliffs, “build years” vs. “growth years,” and why “stability is a leadership choice” might be the most freeing (and challenging) mindset shift you make in 2026. If you’ve ever thought, “We’ll feel stable when we finally _______,” this episode’s your loving interruption.
You’ll walk away with clarity + next steps to build real capacity, including how to:
- Redefine capacity + stability as design problems, not personal failures
→ Shift from “I just need the right people / next grant / better tool” to “Where is our organization fragile, and how do we strengthen the container—systems, rhythms, decision-making—so the work doesn’t require heroics?” - Narrow priorities + clean up decision-making so everything stops bottlenecking at the leader
→ Get practical about choosing fewer, deeper priorities; naming what you’re not doing this year; and mapping who actually owns which decisions—so your ED (or you) isn’t secretly holding six out of ten critical calls. - Build stability through simple financial + operational rhythms (not just more hires)
→ Learn how to read your own “financial weather patterns,” plan for cash cliffs before they hit, decouple capacity from FTEs, and tap tools, fractional support, your board + community as legitimate capacity—not just “nice to haves.”
Episode Highlights:
- Understanding Capacity and Its Importance (02:59)
- Defining Capacity: Reducing Fragility (05:43)
- Designing for Stability in Organizations (08:24)
- Shifting Mindsets: From Growth to Depth (11:28)
- The Role of Community in Capacity Building (14:28)
- Practical Steps to Build Capacity (17:02)
- Real-Life Examples of Capacity Building (19:
Join us at the We Are For Good Summit on February 12!
If you’re looking to build capacity, clarity, and momentum in the new year, we hope you’ll join us at our first-ever We Are For Good Summit, Powered by Givebutter on February 12. Expect workshops, roundtable conversations, and a playbook to get you activated this year. Register for free today!
Thank you to our partners 🩵
Big gratitude to Givebutter, RKD Group, Whiteboard, and Sowen for their partnership in growing the Impact Uprising. If you’re searching for a new CRM, tech tool, brand partner, direct mail partner, or impact strategist— we’d love for you to start with our trusted recs. We’ve vetted them so you don’t have to. Head to weareforgood.com/recs to learn more.
//
Join the We Are For Good Community—completely free.
Join fellow changemakers, share takeaways from this working session, and keep collaborating in a space built for connection, inspiration, and real impact: www.weareforgoodcommunity.com