Priority of Baha'i Funds

I found an intriguing insight while perusing the Baha'i Writings on Funds. I have known for awhile that only Baha'is may contribute to Baha'i Funds, that the act of giving is entirely voluntary, and that each Baha'i should contribute directly to the various funds (local, national, and international). I always thought that when it comes to priority, the local fund should be the most important, with the international fund receiving the smallest share from individuals. As it turns out, it's the other way around.

"At the level of the individual believer, attention to the needs of the funds of the Faith parallels the principles which govern multiple loyalties. The first loyalty of a Baha'i to the whole of mankind, for the benefit of the part is best achieved through the welfare of the whole. But this widest loyalty does not eliminate the lesser loyalties of love for one's country, for the area in which one lives, or for one's family. They all constitute a network of interdependent and mutually beneficial loyalties. So it is with the individual believer's relationship to the International, Continental, National and Local Funds."
(On behalf of the Universal House of Justice, 31 October 1993)

There is a great lesson hidden here, and it's not just about fund contributions. Our loyalty to the whole of mankind should be our highest loyalty, and a corollary is that our sacrificial giving to funds should put international concerns over local concerns. This is counter-intuitive, but absolutely correct. If everyone held their highest loyalty to their tribe, city, or state, international peace would be impossible. Everyone seeks to improve their immediate surroundings, but we also have to look beyond the things in front of our faces and seek to improve the lot of the world, and by doing so we will improve our individual lives.

So when it comes to prioritizing Baha'i Fund contributions, the most should go to the international fund, then continental, national, regional, and least to the local fund. In this way too, the world will reduce extremes of wealth and poverty. If people gave the most to local needs, then the rich cities, counties, and states would stay wealthy, and the poor would stay poor. This was reinforced when a friend recently told me that 80% of the National Baha'i Fund of Nicaragua (a very poor nation) is paid directly by the International Baha'i Fund.

For those in the United States, there is now an online contribution system (https://ocs.bahai.us) that allows electronic contributions directly into regional, national, continental, and international funds, AND it allows automatic payments at the interval of your choosing (including once per Baha'i month). I highly recommend it.