The Doubling Penny • Bright Hope

There’s a clever lesson, often taught to children, that poses the following question: would you rather have a penny that doubles every day for thirty days, or a million dollars right now? Most kids will opt for the million now, because it seems like the greater sum, however, thirty days of doubling that penny actually amounts to more than 5 million dollars*.

The idea of multiplication and sustainability is vitally important as we consider the best ways to approach the work that we do for the poor. It’s much quicker to simply give someone a meal, and in many cases this is appropriate, however, like the penny, we can end up trading a greater good for a quicker result. Essentially, it’s far better to teach individuals to farm, fish, sell, cook, and more than to only address the symptoms of their poverty. Naturally, these types of programs require time, resources, and partnership.

For many people living in poverty, getting from one day to the next is like trying to dig a hole in the sand. Each handful of sand is almost immediately replaced with what pours down into the hole — Bright Hope wants to give them a shovel and show them how to use it. Training and equipping the poor gives them a chance to find the foothold that they need to start moving ahead. Sure, we could dig the hole out for them and wish them well, but what about later? When the sand starts to fill back in, they’re no better off than they were at the start.

Lastly, if we look closer, there’s another lesson to be gained from this question. Multiplication is the magic that makes the overwhelming result possible. If we’re going to make an impact for the poor, we have to work on this together. In order for Bright Hope to be able to provide training, equipment, animals, seed, and food to the poor we rely on the partnership of Allies, like you. When Allies commit to regular giving toward these projects the results can be tremendous! When you take part in the work that Bright Hope is conducting, you’re not only providing for an urgent need, but you’re also helping to bring life-changing skills to the extreme poor.

Bright Hope invites you to be a part of what we’re doing by joining our Impact program. Teaming up allows us to do more together than we can do alone. The Impact program connects Bright Hope and Allies around the world in bringing Hope for Today, Tomorrow and Eternity to the extreme poor. Things don’t change if we don’t act. Please consider partnering with us in serving the poor.

*$5,368,709.12 for you inquisitive folks.