The Giving Coin
“give to help others
Like many charities in the United States, Australian agencies are expecting a donations shortfall during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Economists expects charitable giving to drop by 18 percent in the next two years.
In response, the Australian mint has started pressing 25 million specialty coins called “donation dollars.” It is the first $1 coin to feature a color other than gold. The image of Queen Elizabeth II is pressed into the front of the coin. The reverse features a green center surrounded by an embossed message “give to help others.” The center is accented with a gold ripple design. According to the Australian Mint, the ripples symbolize the ongoing, positive repercussions that each donation can make. The coins will be minted over the next three years, one for every Australian.
But the coins are not commemorative or collectables, they are legal currency Mint Chief Executive Ross MacDiarmid recently told ABC.
“Hopefully, they will look at the message that is being conveyed on that coin and they will look to donate it. . . What we are trying to do here is get people to stop and reflect. If they did just that alone and thought about the idea of donating that in itself would be an amazing outcome. If ever there was a time of need, this is that time.”
And perhaps they should also feature the warning, “Not appropriate for tithe.”
Key Texts
Proverbs 19:17
Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.
Proverbs 22:9
Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.
Matthew 6:21
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 19:21
Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
Matthew 22:20-21
And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Malachi 3:10–12
Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.
Matthew 10:8
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.
2 Corinthians 9:6–8
The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
Key Topics
generosity, giving, stewardship
Source
Nowroozi, Isaac. “Royal Australian Mint releases ‘donation dollar’ coin designed to be given to charitable cause.” ABC News. Retrieved from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-02/mint-releases-special-dollar-coin-designed-to-be-given-away/12621404
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