On October 21, 2002 a small group of people scattered $10,000 in small bills and change outside the New York Stock Exchange and invited everyone to help themselves. Homeless people were given invitations with dollar bills attached and found themselves collecting quarters next to dark-suited Wall Street brokers. The event showcased a paradigm of abundance in which money is neither scarce nor sacred.
This paradigm led Shane Claiborne and Darin Petersen, to create Relational Tithe as a way to live in an “economy of abundance.” They believed that there are enough resources to meet the needs of every person, and that the needs of each person are the responsibility of all people. The beginning of Relational Tithe can be boiled down to a question: “What would happen if we all set aside a tenth of our incomes to meet the needs of people we know?”
A handful of friends from across the United States joined in asking that question and committed to six months of ‘relational tithing’ to answer it. The results that this community experienced were amazing.
As the community continued to practice and learn the abundant economy they found that a number of people across the world were asking similar questions and doing similar experiments in redistributive giving. Realizing that the paradigm of abundance was powerful and infectious, they began working on a Relational Tithe Network that would connect people all over the world to live in the economy of abundance.
This feature is not available in the current release version
This network, RelationalTithe.com, is a platform that allows people and groups from around the world to live together in the economy of abundance. It is a tool for connecting people across geographic and socioeconomic barriers, making it easy to redistribute money wherever it's needed.
At its heart, this network is a bunch of friendships - a community - much like the first Relational Tithe experiment. It is composed of people who live in responsible relationship with one another, caring for each other’s needs. Now, however, the community is made up of many smaller communities. In fact, the original Relational Tithe group is one of the communities that make up the greater RT Network. Groups who are themselves living in this economy of abundance can link up with each other, share ideas, resources, and inspirations, meet each other’s needs, and much more.
This network is an open source project that will evolve as ideas surrounding the economy of abundance evolve. Discussion is encouraged of all RT members. Help by presenting ideas that will make all aspects of this community better, more effective, and more abundant.
This network is not an organization in the typical sense. It is a community of communities with a shared vision of the economy of abundance - where all give so that all can live.
If you are interested in starting your own group, please find information about doing so under the "Get Involved" menu.
If you are interested in helping us think through further development of features and tools that will enhance the practice of redistribution, please contact Damon. Damon.
The original Relational Tithe community declared it foundational that 100% of the money given as tithes would go directly toward meeting the needs for which it was given. This principle carries over to the network as well: all money given as tithes is meant to meet the needs of people, not websites.
RelationalTithe.com seeks innovative ways to cover its overhead costs. If you would like to contribute resources or ideas, please Contact us.
For more information regarding the finances of Relational Tithe, please see our annual 990 reports at GuideStar.
If you have any other questions please email donations@relationaltithe.com
Create a free account that allows you to connect with other users, create a Volunteer Card, participate in the Discussion Room, obtain lots of resources and much more!
