Give It 4 Good
The E4GR Stimulus Check Campaign
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also - Matthew 6:21
PRESS RELEASE - GIVE IT 4 GOOD CAMPAIGN - April 10, 2008
In May, many Americans will be receiving so-called "economic stimulus" checks from the government with instructions to spend the money to bolster a stagnant economy. With a $9 trillion national debt, and a record and growing trade deficit undergirding a society that consumes goods far beyond its need, the call to consume more isn't just indefensible economically, but environmentally and morally.
This month, Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation is launching the "Give It 4 Good Campaign." (www.giveit4good.org) The campaign urges everyone to take these "economic stimulus checks" (or a similar amount for people not eligible for a check) and give all or part of them toward organizations of their choosing working to alleviate global poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
"We have an economy that is based on overconsumption, one that puts our consumer desires above all other values," says the Rev. Mike Kinman, EGR executive director. "It has caused us to cripple the creation with which God has entrusted us. It has led us into war. It has led us to look at our sisters and brothers around the world not as children of God but as objects in supply chains.
"And every step of the way, it is eating away at our nation's soul."
Give It 4 Good (www.giveit4good.org) is not primarily a fundraising campaign, though raising money for ministries and organizations working to end extreme poverty is certainly an intended consequence. The purpose of Give It 4 Good is to foster a conversation about how to follow Christ in a culture of overconsumption - and to give people a chance to put their treasure where their heart is.
"We call it ‘choosing compassion over consumption,'" says Kinman. "It's recognizing the link between our everyday consumer decisions and the economic systems that produce and sustain extreme poverty."
"Like everything else, it's about wrestling with the question,'What would Jesus do?'"
And it's easy to do. The Give It 4 Good pledge takes about 2 minutes to make and is available online at www.giveit4good.org.
E4GR has worked hard to make the campaign accessible to everyone.
People whose income is either too high or too low to receive checks are asked to determine what their check would be if they qualified (based on marital status and number of dependent children) and give all or part of that amount.
Because there are people who need the money literally to put food on the table, there are several levels of giving offered - from 100% to 10% (a tithe) to as little as 0.7%.
"Anyone can make this statement. Of course, people will give the whole amount, but everyone can do something," Kinman says. "0.7% of the highest check amount is still less than $15. Everyone can do that!"
The campaign's website - www.giveit4good.org - not only has the opportunity to take the pledge, it has a running tally of who has given, how much has been pledged and the organizations that are benefitting. There are also related advocacy actions as well as materials for personal and congregational study. Sunday bulletin inserts linking the campaign to lectionary readings are also available.
In the first 72 hours of the campaign, more than 130 people had taken the pledge, donating more than $30,000 to MDG-related causes. The most common destination for gifts was Episcopal Relief and Development and the MDG Inspiration Fund, but people are also using their gifts to support diocesan MDG projects and the work of Episcopal missionaries in Africa.
"EGR has always been about spiritual transformation, and that's what this campaign is about," says Kinman. "The money given will transform and save lives, but even more than that the decision to choose compassion over consumption will transform hearts."
For more information about Give It 4 Good, including a running total of who has made the pledge and how much has been pledged, go to www.giveit4good.org.
For a list of those who have made the pledge, including quotable comments many have made when making the pledge, go to www.e4gr.org/gi4gpledgers.html.
For other questions, contact EGR executive director Mike Kinman at mkinman@gmail.com or 314.348.6453.
You can also contact other members of the Give It 4 Good design team.
Elaine Thomas, EGR contact, Diocese of Central Pennsylvania - elainet60@gmail.com
John Miers, Diocese of Washington - Johngmiers@comcast.net
And these members of the EGR board
John Hammock, EGR board president -- john.hammock@tufts.edu
The Rev. Ian Douglas, EGR board vice president - idouglas@eds.edu
The Rev. Debbie Shew, EGR board member, canon for community ministries, Diocese of Atlanta - dshew@episcopalatlanta.org
What people are saying about Give It 4 Good
"American society is addicted to consumption. We use up far more than our proportional share of the world's resources, and the stimulus check is just an encouragement to continue to do so. Give It 4 Good is our way of making an intervention in this addictive cycle."
-Elaine Thomas, EGR contact/ERD coordinator for Diocese of Central PA., member, Give It 4 Good design team
"What we do with our income is a clear way of living out our values. This is a good step in helping us to think about what we do with our resources in our daily life."
-Dr. John Hammock, EGR board president
"Give it for Good reminds us that it is all too easy to be sucked into a way of life that precludes mindfulness and doing good for society. What we do with our money matters; the choices we make every day matter. It is part of our discernment of how to be open to personal transformation in all aspects of our lives."
-Dr. John Hammock, EGR board president
"The best way I can think of to stimulate the economy is to help others achieve the basic goals set out in the MDGs. If everyone had food, housing, education and security, we would all prosper in remarkable ways. This is just one small way we can repair the world and please our Creator."
-Linda Leicht, EGR diocesan contact, Diocese of W. Missouri
"I already give to several organizations that work to eradicate global poverty and suffering: ERD, Doctors Without Borders, and the Heifer Project. My tax rebate--"economic stimulus," indeed--means I can give them more."
-The Rev. Patricia Hanen, Congregational Development Officer, Diocese of Ohio
"Pumping this money into the world, through the MDG system, is a way that Americans can show their interests and intentions in and to all the world."
-John Miers, Bethesda, MD, member of Give It 4 Good Design Team
