Quakers, Enthusiasm, Youth, and Money

A couple people have mentioned that a lot of the money needed to keep our Quaker organizations afloat is coming from elderly quakers, and not so much from young adults. Some ask, "How can we get our young adults to give money?"

Looking at the behavior of today's Quakers, another question comes to my mind. How can we create Quaker communities our young adults, and everyone else, will care deeply about? For a lot of people, the experience of being with Quakers today does not inspire intense devotion, powerful spiritually enriching experiences, etc. If it did, I would not be able to go to a meeting with over 100 members and hear that it was a good day when 29 people show up for meeting for worship (not all of them members). Is there anything we can do to make meeting for worship better for ourselves? Is there anything YOU can do to make Quaker meeting for worship a deeper spiritual experience for yourself and others? A good number of Quakers do feel compelled to spend upwards of 5 hours per week participating in our communities in one way or another. If we can get more people to have this greater connection to Quakers, the money problems will sort themselves out.

One Quaker mentioned to me that one successful way to fund-raise is to treat the "thank-you" as the most important thing.
What is it that young adults offer us that we are thankful for?
What is it about Quaker communities that we're thankful for?
Can we present those things that we're thankful for in a way that helps other people seek & find them?

A Friend once shared a message that went more or less like this: Our job is to build a community so vital and filled with joy and spirit... that when we ask people to give money, they, being good, skeptical Quakers, will think "why should i?" And then they'll think to themselves that the answer is obvious, and that answer will be in the benefits and support and deep spirituality that our community offers.

This last is a message that, to me, felt truly spirit-led. I have felt something of a call to see that this message gets the follow-through that is due to it.

This is not just the work of the person who spoke those words, but the work of everyone who wants the vitality and beauty of the Quaker faith to thrive.