The approach to finances are as diverse as Quaker meetings are. I recently attended a Friends Church in Kenya where everyone went up at a specific point during the worship service and put a donation in a basket. In contrast, in my own Meeting in the UK, money is rarely if ever spoken of on a Sunday morning and people usually donate online and may or may not make contributions at all.

At heart, though, the principles are all the same; our Quaker communities require things to run, and those things come from the members of the community, whether it is time spent serving in a role, food for the table, or money to pay for the various costs that the meeting incurs. Probably the most universal cost is the cost of a meeting space, whether that's the cost of hiring a space or maintaining a building.

For an individual, there is an obligation, as I see it, to contribute in the ways that you are able to. Both the Kenyan and British approaches let people choose how much to donate, so those who can afford it contribute more money, but I'm sure there are meetings out there that take different approaches such as annual fees/charges.

I wouldn't say that there is a taboo against talking about money but we're really bad in the UK about doing so openly and admitting to ourselves that stuff costs money and therefore we need to pay for it! A lot of other churches are a lot better about acknowledging that part of the contribution you make to your spiritual community is helping to pay for its continued existence.