Ecology of Generosity

At Future of Faith, we are committed to operating within an ecology of generosity—a network of mutual investment, reciprocal trust, and shared abundance.

This ecology is not a metaphor. It is a practical model that reshapes how we think about funding, impact, and participation. In a world increasingly defined by scarcity thinking—hoarding access, paywalls, data capture, and monetized everything—we choose to build a different kind of system.

How the Ecology Works

Every partnership fuels more than its own deliverables.

When an organization hires us to design a listening tool, evaluate a program, or conduct original research, the fees do not disappear into overhead. They get reinvested. They underwrite the creation of free resources—like our Sacred Listening Tools or the Sacred Listening Study—that are accessible to anyone, anywhere. They help us fund and sustain our amazing team that includes ministry practitioners, graduate students, people who have their own non-profits and all kinds of amazing things that make the world a better place.   In short, it helps us to say “Yes” to all kinds of things that don’t “make sense” in a traditional P&L.

In turn, those free resources support congregations, educators, and spiritual innovators who could never afford to commission custom work. They spark new ideas, equip leaders, and expand access.

In this way, every dollar serves two purposes:

                  1.   It helps your community do its work more thoughtfully.

                  2.   It strengthens the larger ecosystem of relational ministry and faith formation.

This Is Not Charity. It Is Interdependence.

We know our future is bound up with yours and we want to get closer to that reality every day.  We do not think of this as giving away extra capacity. We design for generosity from the ground up. Our budgets, timelines, and tools are built with distribution in mind. We believe that resources become more powerful as they circulate. Ideas take root when they are shared. And trust grows when access is not contingent on payment or privilege.

Why It Matters

We live in a time of institutional fragility, spiritual hunger, and pervasive distrust. Generosity is part of the antidote to what ails us. It builds the connective tissue that holds ministries together across difference. It allows innovation to scale relationally, not just technically. And it reflects the sacred truth that our lives are meant to be tied to one another.

The Ecology of Generosity is not something we offer. It is how we operate.

If you have ever downloaded one of our tools, used our research, or shared our work, then you are already part of it.

We are working every day to deepen our commitment to this approach.  We believe that new economic models are needed to meet the challenges of ministry in the modern world, and we think fostering an Ecology of Generosity can be part of the answer.