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"Having seen or experienced this stupa, by thinking of one's experience of it, one is liberated through recollection." — His Holiness, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche |
Dear Friend,
I am asking you to help me meet the crisis at Shambhala Mountain Center head on, and today I am writing to as many people as I possibly can.
In October we faced the worst financial crisis we have ever known.
This is what we did:
We cut back drastically, including energy savings, painful staff cuts and pulling way back on expensive advertising. Many of the remaining staff have taken a voluntary pay reduction for the next four months.
We set our fund-raising target to a much more realistic level, since everyone is suffering hard times.
We took a hard look at our survival in a changed world. We decided to change our financial model altogether, with the aim of living with less and ending the cycle of year-end cash crises.
"It is essential that in the face of difficulties we remember how extraordinary Shambhala Mountain Center will be when it is completed. It is similar to the strategy that runners use when they are climbing steep hills: ordinary runners look down and grind away when they are climbing difficult hills, but the great climbers look up to the crest of the hill as they climb, and this brings out their strength."
— Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.
Very close to my heart, we also took decisive steps to bring the culture on the land much more in line with Shambhala Vision, starting with a fresh emphasis on daily collective meditation practice for everyone on staff.
I was able to discuss all this thoroughly with the Sakyong before he went into retreat, and we have his full agreement and blessings for the course we are now steering.
Following my conversation with him, I made it one of my highest priorities to write now to as many people as possible.
My target is to raise $200,000 this month. If you, and every one of the thousands of people I am writing to, make a donation of $100 we will definitely meet that target.
If you are able to give more, wonderful. For example, support of $100 a month would be tremendous, and make a huge difference for the year ahead.
If you can only make a more modest contribution, that would still be a really significant gesture in these difficult times.
This is one of those moments when large numbers of people making individual donations really counts. If everyone who gets this message responds, we will secure all the immediate funding we need to get us through to the summer, when our cash flow situation will greatly improve.
I have timed this letter as best I can to avoid overlapping with other year-end appeals that may come your way from other parts of Shambhala. If you do get other appeals, I know you will use your best judgment as to what you wish most to support.
If you do feel ready to help me with this appeal, you can click on the donation tab below. It will take you straight to the website, and I have asked to be notified of every donation so that I can thank you personally.
With the warmest of wishes,
Richard Reoch
President of Shambhala
If you want to know more: All the financial details and decisions are spelled out in Connie Brock's very full report that we sent out last week through the Shambhala News Service. It's really important that you know about these decisions, so if you missed her report, here is the link.
Click this Link to Donate to Shambhala Mountain Center:
You can also mail your donation to:
Shambhala Mountain Center, Office of Development
4921 County road 68C, Red Feather Lakes, CO 80545
or call your donation in to: 1-970-881-2184 ext. 384