Participating in the Earthcare Gathering has led me to reflect on many things, one being money. The traditional way of giving money for beneficial effect has been to make a donation to charity, either as a one-off or as an on-going payment – these days, mostly as a direct debit.
I have become aware that this tends to be linear: there is a need, you are asked to donate, the donation is spent. If the need is not fully addressed, you are asked to donate again. The original donation is used up and is gone.
Due to my time of life, I am aware that there will come a day when I won't be around to give a donation.
I have been looking at ways of giving donations that will go round in circularity, hopefully still being of some beneficial effect even after I am gone.
My tentative step has been to give to Shared Interest (there are others) which give fairly ethical loans to community grower co-operatives who use the money in a business sense, but with the spin-off that it will benefit their families and communities and help address needs. A high percentage of the loans are repaid and therefore the 'invested' money can be used again in a loan to help another group. I don't want the money returned to me or to have any interest from it paid to me.
I wonder what Friends feel about this 'working within the capitalist system' approach? Is this the best that can be done, or is it possible to contribute to the beneficial effect for others in the wider world outside the established capitalist system?
Waiting to hear with interest from Friends via the next issue.
Kathryn May