"Scrappy": What a Board Member's Word Choice Reveals

A board member recently started calling our organization "scrappy." They meant it as a compliment, they assured me. And I do think there's something to celebrate there—we're resourceful, persistent, rough around the edges in all the right ways.

But I've been sitting with that word. And the more I sit with it, the more I wonder what it's actually saying.

Framing: The Power of a Single Word

Let's start here, because naming things matters. When someone calls you "scrappy," they're framing your organization in a particular way.

Scrappy can mean resourceful, creative, willing to do more with less. I'll take that.

But scrappy also carries weight: cheap. Uncouth. A little annoying. Unsophisticated. The thing you use when you can't afford the real thing. The approach that works for now but won't scale. The scrappy startup that will eventually need to "grow up" and do things the right way.

That's a framing choice. And it matters.

Questioning: What Assumptions Are Embedded Here?

When someone calls your nonprofit "scrappy," what assumption are they making?

They're assuming that there's a "right way" to do this work—probably the way well-funded organizations do it. They're assuming that scrappiness is a phase, not a feature. They're assuming that constraints are creative problems to be solved, not creative catalysts.

But here's what I want to question: Is more money the answer? Is the "real" version of our work sitting somewhere in a well-funded future where we finally have enough resources to stop being scrappy? Or is scrappiness sometimes just... how good work gets done in the world?

Some of the most innovative organizations I know operate on constraint. They have to. And they're not waiting to be "real" someday—they're being real right now, with what they have.

Observing: What's Actually Happening

Let me observe what we're actually doing, separate from the word someone else chose.

We're solving problems with limited budget. We're calling in favors. We're doing things in unconventional ways because conventional ways cost money we don't have. We're moving fast. We're learning as we go.

And it works. Our impact metrics are solid. Our team is engaged. We're growing.

So when that board member calls us scrappy, are they observing resourcefulness? Or are they observing underfunding and translating it into a word that makes them feel better about it?

Maybe both.

Reflecting: What Am I Actually Uncomfortable With?

Let me be honest about my own reaction.

Part of me is proud of being scrappy. Part of me bristles at it. And I think the bristling comes from this: There's a whiff of condescension in the word. A "isn't it cute how they're making do" quality. Like we're doing well for a scrappy nonprofit, which implies there's a higher tier we're not quite reaching.

And maybe that's unfair to the board member. Maybe I'm reading into it. But that's also exactly why language matters. Because even well-intentioned words can carry subtle messages about hierarchy, professionalism, and whether someone is seeing you as you actually are or as a diminished version of something else.

Grounding: What Values Are We Actually Living?

Here's where I want to push back on the framing.

If we ground ourselves in our actual values, what's the honest assessment? We're operating with limited resources because we're mission-driven, not profit-driven. We're making strategic choices about where money goes. We're lean by design, not by accident.

That's not scrappy. That's disciplined.

But the word "scrappy" lets everyone—including the board member—avoid the real conversation: Does our organization have the resources it needs to do this work well?

Scrappy is easier to say than "underfunded." It's more flattering. It implies scrappiness will eventually give way to a more "professional" version of ourselves.

But what if we don't want that version? What if lean, resourceful, unconventional is who we are?

What's Really Being Said

So what did that board member actually mean when they called us scrappy?

Maybe just what they said: you're resourceful and persistent.

But maybe also: I notice you're doing a lot with a little, and I'm not entirely sure how sustainable that is.

Or: You're succeeding despite constraints, which is impressive, but I'm not sure you're really a professional organization yet.

Or even: I like what you're doing, and I'm rooting for you to eventually become what I think a "real" nonprofit should be.

None of those conversations are bad to have. But they're worth having explicitly, not just embedded in a single word.

The next time someone calls us scrappy, I think I'll smile, accept the compliment, and then ask a question: "Thanks—I'm curious what you mean by that. What are you observing?"

Because the answer will tell me whether we're seeing ourselves the same way. And the more we are the same page, the better we will be able to manage everything.