Does 'getting paid for it' destroy community projects?

I have been being paid for my work in community climate action for a few years now and I have noticed a certain tension. The story goes like this: a well intentioned individual will set up a project and pour heart and soul into it. The project idea is good so they gather people around it and grow momentum. It seems to be going well but inevitably this project will become too much for the individual and here we reach the interesting part. There are a couple of common scenarios for what will happen next: 

1) The lead project person will burn out and try to reduce the scope of the project so they can look after their mental health. The project is their baby and they can't bear the idea of anyone else taking a lead on it, but they just don't have time/ capacity to let it grow anymore, it's become a burden so they try and keep operations small. You could argue there's nothing really wrong with this. Every little helps, keep things "grassroots" and small, everyone can just do a bit. The problem comes if you're blocking others from taking up the same space, when there is a gap to be filled. People come to you because they want to get involved, they have a similar interest/passion and then are turned away or have their enthusiasm zapped because everything is perceived as too much effort. 

2) The lead project person can continue in a leadership role, or pass it on, but the project needs to move to the next stage and be opened up to be help by a team. If this happens then that team will either be paid or unpaid - or, most likely, a mixture of both volunteers and paid roles. Here we have a different kind of problem. Volunteer roles can be a joy, people get as much as they give from taking on these roles. However volunteers, understandably, may not prioritise their volunteering role over their job, caring responsibilities, holidays and other responsibilities. In the case of volunteering for a board of directors or becoming a trustee, community projects have a responsibility to recruit a diverse group of people and they are likely to have other pressures and limited capacity. So then we have the paid workers being poorly supported to navigate a volatile funding situation in a challenging sector with increasing pressures from environmental breakdown and increased economic and societal pressures. Cue burnout, dropout and stagnant projects. 

I would argue that right now, the world needs robust community climate action projects that can be sustainable yet flexible and given the space to grow. This will require funding, support networks, skilled professionals and generous volunteers. But it will also require leadership which may involve standing back and letting a project grow. And it will involve paid people who can drive projects forward. 

Leaving community projects to be run by volunteers alone means that only those with the privilege of spare time and the confidence to come along are likely to get involved. If you have paid, skilled project workers then they have a responsibility to make sure the project reaches everyone, especially more vulnerable groups. They should have the capacity to think of different approaches to make the project more welcoming and reach beyond the same few faces. A job can also be passed on more easily that a volunteer role which has got out of hand. 

I realise that it's important to challenge a default growth mindset, and growing grassroots organisations too fast would go against the practice of de-growth. But I do think we need to step up community climate action. This is our resilience plan, our way of practicing hope, our community strengthening against a divisive regime. So perhaps we need to work on a way that we allow projects to be nurtured collectively and so those who plant the seed don't have to be the sole protector of what grows? And perhaps we need to value those who are choosing to grow their skills in this project nurturing and value the contribution they make? Let's take the ego out of it. Let's try and value the input that each person makes, but be wary of anything that sits on the shoulders of just one person.