Donation Or Contributions

These twelve step recovery programs such as AA do not take donations.  They are not a Foundation, and decided that because they did not want donations. They want contributions.  There is a difference.  You give donations to organizations that you might attend rarely, like a museum, or to a cause that you think is worthwhile but you will not give any service time to them, like the American Cancer Society.  AA is not interested in the money from such people.  They want participation, and membership that shows up and does something to make the organization function for the purpose for which it was founded.  They pass the hat at meetings.  You don't attend meetings?  You don't do any service work for AA?  Try sending your big check to their headquarters.  They will send it back to you.  I like that.  I look at churches.  If they took only the money from people who attended, when the basket is passed, and who actually did some volunteer work, they would go broke.  Many churches are forever trying to get money, donations, from people and places that have little to do with the church.  I suspect that AA will survive a lot of such churches.  If you belong to some organization ask yourself if you seek donations, or are contributions sufficient.  It will tell you a lot about your purpose and how you are doing in your mission.