President Trump is reducing U.S. global humanitarian activity by gutting USAID, to make sure foreign aid is “in line with the president’s ‘America first’ foreign policy,” as Secretary of State Marco Rubio says. Mennonite Central Committee is one way Anabaptists can respond. The latest audited financial statements from mcc.org show a balance of $71 million without donor restriction. Could U.S. Anabaptists encourage MCC to commit a significant portion of this balance to immediate human needs in the Global South? We would be tangibly showing allegiance to the way of Jesus first, rather than “America first.”

Clifferd Dick, North Newton, Kan.

MCC responds: The $71 million is a combination of assets, including physical ones, not all available for operating purposes. The amount available for operations is closer to $30 million, a very reasonable operating reserve for an organization the size of ours. MCC has been steadily increasing our programming budgets both in the U.S. and around the world. From 2023 to 2024, we increased program spending by almost $5 million, and we anticipate another increase from 2024 to 2025.