Rev. Carroll Carter
Contributing Advisor to Radio Melrose 96.9 FM
For decades, many disadvantaged communities have been told that the only way forward is to wait for others’ help. Nonprofits, government programs, and wealthy donors have often stepped in, offering money and resources. While some of these efforts have done good, too often they come with strings attached. When others’ bring the money, they also bring control. They shape the community’s story, decide what is important, and choose who benefits most. This “beggar cup” approach, where a community waits with an open hand, weakens its ability to stand tall.
But there is another way — stronger, more powerful way. It is called community self-investment. This means that the people of the community put their time, skills, resources, however, meager and energy into their own future. Instead of waiting for someone else to write the narrative, they write it themselves. Instead of being told what they need, they decide it. Instead of having others’ take the benefits, they make sure the benefits stay at home.
Self-investment keeps the focus where it belongs: on the community’s resilience, abundance, and well-being. Every community, even the poorest, has strengths. These include wisdom from some elders, creativity from youth, small businesses that serve neighbors, and cultural traditions that build pride. When people pool what they already have– money, skills, knowledge, and time—they create something powerful.
For example, when neighbors contribute small amounts of money to start a community fund, that fund can be used to support local businesses, provide scholarships, or repair homes. When local workers volunteer their skills, playgrounds can be built, more gardens planted, and homes fixed without relying on others’. When young people are taught leadership and responsibility, they grow into adults who give back.
This kind of investment is not just about money. It is about choosing to believe that what we have, though it may seem small, is enough to begin. From that beginning, larger opportunities grow. Money is a tool.
The beggar cup approach is dangerous because it teaches dependence. When other investors come in, they often set the rules. They may say, “We’ll give you money, but you must follow our plan.” This can lead to programs that don’t meet the real needs of the people. Even worse, it can divide the community by rewarding some and leaving others out. Over time, people forget how to rely on themselves, and each other.
Self-investment flips this story. It says, “We are not beggars. We are builders”. It replaces dependency with dignity. It reminds people that they are, we are not powerless, even if resources are limited. And most importantly, it gives the community ownership of its future.
For many disadvantaged communities, self-investment feels like a new and even frightening idea. Generations have grown up believing that others’ hold the keys to progress. To suddenly turn inward and say, “We will plant our own seeds,” takes courage. There will be doubts. People may worry that the resources are too small, or that the challenges are too great. The First Woman African President of Liberia, 2006-2018, The Honorable Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said “If your dreams do not scare you, they are Not Big Enough.”
But history shows that strong communities are not built overnight, nor are they built by others. They are built little by little, by people who believe in themselves. A single seed grows into a tree, a single drop fills a bucket. A single act of giving inspires another.
The most important reason for community self-investment is the legacy it leaves for young people. When children and teens see their community building itself up, they learn pride and responsibility. They grow up knowing that they are not victims, but creators. They inherit more than money—they inherit a mindset of resilience, abundance, and cooperation.
Imagine a young person watching elders create a neighborhood scholarship fund, or seeing local workers build a community center, or joining with friends to clean up a park or a street. Those memories shape how they see their role in the world. They learn that the community is not something broken that must be saved by others’, but something powerful that grows from the inside.
Community self-investment is not the easy road. It requires trust, unity, and patience. It asks people to share what little they may have, believing that together it will become more and more. It challenges old ways of thinking and demands new leadership. But the reward is priceless: a community that owns its future protects it story and passes on a strong legacy to its youth. Claud Anderson, Ed.D, author of PowerNomics wrote “The measure of progress in a people is not what they consume, but what they produce, own and control”.
We must plant this idea in both the minds and hearts of our people. It is time to put down the beggar cup and pick up the builder’s tools. A community that invests in itself becomes unshakable. It becomes a community of dignity, resilience, abundance, and joy. And that is a legacy worth leaving behind.
