Have you ever stopped to consider the flurry of activity at this time of year – our EOFY?
I’ve been thinking about this notion of timing and urgency.
We have the privilege of managing our finances and deciding when we give. We can plan our generosity – and I’m so grateful for our Entrust supporters who give so generously!
But let’s consider how different it is for those we serve.
There are so many in our world who are living with the daily struggle of not having enough to eat – if a child in a slum can’t sell a cheap trinket to a tourist, or a young boy doesn’t scavenge recycling to sell, then a whole family may not eat that day – or even longer. The survival timeframe in these communities is measured day to day.
We work in parts of the world where a loan of just $4 this week could enable a hopeful mother to buy ingredients to make bread. She could sell this for a small profit, enabling her to pay back the loan sharks, perhaps buy medicine for a sick child, or keep her children in school for the week.
Even our partner organisations on the ground operate almost on a month-to-month basis. Some grappling with civil war, dangerous governments, persecution and uncontrolled inflation. They must decide which villages, communities or needs are the greatest. Would their time and resources be best spent supporting a feeding program this month, a safe water project, or investing in awareness education to reduce the vulnerability of children being trafficked?
So, we come to this time of year, and due to the reality of the economic framework we operate in, many are concerned about optimising returns, minimising tax and we will invest considerable time and energy in wise management of money.
But, when generosity is a lifestyle – over a lifetime, the artificial deadlines we create around money, finance and how we manage our giving, maybe become less of a factor? Yes, we should absolutely optimise our capacity to give, but let’s also keep in mind that timing and urgency is contextual and relative.
In poor communities in hard places – people live every day on short timeframes. The needs are great, urgent, immediate, and ongoing. We on the other hand, have the privilege of the long view, with seemingly more time.
Entrust is in this for the long term. If you too are interested in transforming lives, we want to partner with you to enable a lifetime of generosity that changes your life and the lives of those we can serve together.
If you’re already part of our Entrust supporter community – sincerely, thank you. We could not do this without you. If you’re thinking about it – I’d love to talk with you…
Nikki, Entrust CEO