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eight years it has become about EIGHT TIMES larger and more
powerful than before. I do not know of ANY other activity, whether
in commercial business, or non-commercial enterprise, that has had
such a remarkable, steady, consistent, and rapid growth and
success. Nor any productive of so much GOOD!
But, primarily due to the OVERWHELMING RESPONSE from the
new campaign of purchasing full-page and double-page advertising
space in the world's largest mass-circulation magazines and
newspapers, this past year we have grown by about 65%! THAT IS
ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! It seems INCREDIBLE! It is an AMAZING
PROGRESS!
BUT -- and here is the other side of the story -- to
maintain an approximate 30% growth per year, we have had to have
also an approximate 30% increase every year in the financial income
for the Work. As you know, this great Work is not backed or
supported by any great multi-million dollar foundation, commercial
corporation, or super-wealthy individuals. It has ALL had to come
from our growing family of MANY CO-WORKERS. And the AVERAGE
financial income of our Co-Workers is slightly BELOW the income of
the AVERAGE FAMILY in the United States and Canada! The money
to RUN this Work has had to come FROM THE POOR -- not the wealthy!
If we had not been receiving the MANY very small amounts of tithes
and offerings -- the WIDOWS' MITES -- this Work could never have
continued and grown as it has. Every single dollar COUNTS! Every
single dollar IS IMPORTANT! Every single dollar DOES MORE GOOD --
ACCOMPLISHES MORE -- GOES FARTHER, in THIS WORK than any place I
know of.
So -- to increase the power of The WORK by 30% a year we
have had to have a 30% per year increase in financial INCOME for
the Work and due to the tremendous response from the ads, a 25%
increase would suffice this year.
Now HERE IS THE SITUATION AT THE MINUTE! For this year
1969 we planned, in our budget, for approximately a 25% increase in
money. Yet in the first 7 months of this year, 1969, our increase
in money received has been only 11.03%. That sounds disastrous!
Actually it isn't, BUT IT IS VERY SERIOUS!
Let me explain, so you will understand. Six or seven years
ago I began asking you Co-Workers if you would LOAN to the Work,
larger sums you might have on hand but which you felt unable to
give outright as a donation, yet did not need to use until some
future date. I told you it could be PUT TO WORK, doing much GOOD,
instead of lying idle and unused in your bank. A few of you
responded. We used the money in the Work, and it did help very
greatly. The next year, the amount of money we received on this
loan basis increased. And the next, and the next. It continued to
increase. We found, after years of experience, that in time our
Co-Workers were able to turn an average of 80% of the money loaned
into outright donations. Only an average of 20% was found to be
needed, and returned to our Co-Workers. So we maintained a cash
balance equal to 20% in a special fund to guarantee repayment.
BUT, as the amounts of these loans grew, each year a larger