Nash County commissioners made a tough, generous decision this week in granting a one-time gift of $15,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Nash/Edgecombe Counties.

The clubs are in a tight spot, facing a $127,000 deficit, according to Doug Starr, a member of the clubs’ board of directors. Already, the Boys & Girls Clubs have voted to close two branches to save money, Starr told commissioners. It’s been a tough year all around.

It’s hard to not empathize. The Boys & Girls Clubs make a world of difference to kids who might not otherwise graduate from high school or who might otherwise get in trouble with the law or who might otherwise cost the county thousands of dollars in social services or incarceration expenses.

But neither Nash nor any other county has a bottomless pool of money.

It’s heartening to see commissioners dig deep for a cause as valuable as the Boys & Girls Clubs. But that kind of “gift” can’t continue forever.