Earlier this year I worked to make contact with someone inside AERDO agencies.  I wanted to find out how the organizations are doing, especially in light of the recent economic conditions.  I went through the same process in early 2009 and learned that about 60% of members were down in donations, 30% had stayed about the same, and 10% were up considerably despite the economic crash.  I had the sense that many agencies who weren’t faring well financially were glumly planning budget cuts and layoffs.

When I began the process this year, I was eager to learn how things might have shifted now that we have all had time to absorb the “new reality”.  What I found heartened me.  Not because everyone is doing better financially, but because of the approach that we seem to be taking.

The most common phrase I heard would come at the beginning of their assessment: “By the grace of God”.  Groups that were down financially would say “by the grace of God we are making it through” and some seemed to border on surprise that things weren’t worse.  Groups who were up financially would say “By the grace of God we are exceeding even our best expectations”.

Obviously, AERDO agencies vary greatly in size, scope and financial position.  But I’m encouraged that even in these difficult times (or perhaps because of difficult times) we are relying on the grace of God.