There is a certain mystery surrounding the general fund of any charitable organization. It causes a wide range of emotions in people. Some want to avoid giving to general funds; others choose general funds for large donations. I recently came across a letter written by our former Director, Paul Lindell. The letter dates to 1970, and was written to a donor who contributed to our General Fund. What follows are some of Pauls thoughts.
There is nothing very glamorous about the General Fund.Many people think of general funds as a kind of big, dark hole where the money they give disappears and they never know what happens to it. They would have given their money to some more exciting cause, some project where they can see buildings being built, to orphans maybe whose faces they can get to know.But General Fund! Whats that? Who knows what happens to money in such a fund?
We do not feel that way about our General Fund. To us it is almost human. It is something like a big-hearted mother in a home who is always busy doing things for her family, for her neighbors and friends.She does the shopping, the cooking, the washing, the ironing, the sewing, the cleaning, the gardening.She makes lunches for the kidsand helps them with their homework. She reads the Bible to them and prays with them.She is the source of comfortfor everyone in the family. Dad and the kids expect her to know everything.
Well, our General Fund is like that. It helps to make our Mission a happy home for all the Mission family. It pays the rent and heat bills. It supplies the office with phone, light, paper, stamps, typewriters and what not. It gives living allowances to those who need this. It helps with travel expenses, with insurance, with printing.with troubles and emergencies that come along. We thank God for every gift that comes to strengthen the hands of our General Fund, and I am sure you can understand why. So we thank you too for doing this…!
Pauls description is pretty accurate still today (except for the typewriters!). Donations overall could be divided into three categories: missionary support, project support, and the General Fund. The mission needs a healthy base of supporters in all three of these areas. During the past four years, nearly half of all donations have been designated for the ministry of a particular missionary. The other half has been divided pretty equally between project support and the General Fund. This seems to me to be a very healthy balance. I am grateful that our supporters have felt it worthwhile to support our General Fund while at the same time providing for other designated needs in such a generous way.