Take the money off the table

It’s that time of the year when we’re reminded that money doesn’t grow on trees.

We all have to make do—or do more—with less.

A big ask. For households, organisations and governments.

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If budgets were trees, I reckon most of us think governments are the evergreens of the tree world.

They have plenty of leaves on their branches.

And in Australia, that’s year-round. Here, you’re more likely to walk under a eucalypt than a bare-branched deciduous tree in winter.

But when we’re talking budget, it’s convenient to overlook that there are plenty of introduced deciduous trees. They lose their leaves here in winter too.

Yet…

😕 Communities are often surprised to find that the coffers are not full when local governments ask them for help to weigh up their budget considerations.

😮 Community partners are just as surprised when their government partner has their budget cut.

I’ve been guiding quite a few groups through this experience lately. One was a community partnership whose funding was cut by 70 per cent.

It’s helpful to take the money off the table and look at things with fresh eyes.

• What does each partner give to their collaboration?

• What do they get?

This often results in a long list of time, treasure and talent that can’t be counted in dollars.

Illustration by: Jacinta Cubis

People see, and feel, a strong foundation.

From here, we might move onto:

• Who is doing this well elsewhere?

• What can we learn from them?

These questions can unearth examples of things that can be done with little or no budget.

Creative solutions are often found that might need government support, but not funding.

Like one I found in the Netherlands. Uni students live rent free in aged care homes in exchange for spending 30 hours a month with senior residents. *

Now that sounds like a win-win.

• Cash strapped students get free rent.

• Young and old interact with people outside of their respective bubbles.

• Skills are learned, knowledge exchanged, loneliness and social isolation reduced.

It sounds like a few people in the Netherlands took the money off the table to come up with a creative way to fix a few problems.

Money changes everything, as the song says.

Give it a go. Take it off the table and see what crops up.

It could just be low hanging fruit that was right in front of you.

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*Johanna Harris, Here’s why some Dutch university students are living in nursing homes, The Conversation, 29 November 2016

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