Important News About Our Finances 9/26
Beloved Sangha,
Over the past 30+ years, Clouds in Water has survived lots of ups and downs in our finances, as do many non-profits. We have always survived and come out strong. I am writing today to let you know that we are in one of our "down" times, and let you know how you can help.
First, the good news: Clouds has over $105,000 in our bank accounts to weather through difficulties. This can be used for emergency needs, downturns in the economy, or any other financial problems that may arise. With our current budget of about $225,000/year, this means we are in a healthy and strong position cash-wise.
The challenging news is that we are in a not-so-good position income-wise. This is also the situation with many other non-profit organizations right now.
Despite our recent successes with our annual Sit-A-Thons and Give-to-The Max Day fundraisers, our current income is not fully covering our current expenses. Our overall income has declined for the past two years while our expenses have stayed mostly the same or slightly increased. This decrease is likely the result of the uncertainty in the economy experienced by our donors and participants. The increase in expenses is mostly due to inflation. This year will be even more challenging, because our largest donor, who has been making a gift of $25,000/year for the past three years, cannot continue to give at that level. We are OK for now, because of our strong cash position, but spending more than we bring in is not something that can continue indefinitely.
So, what can we do?
The staff and board, and especially Eisho as our Fund Development and Finance Director, have been working hard to come up with solutions. Over the next few months we will be putting many plans into effect to rectify this situation. Some of these are:
Cultivating Donor Relationships. Teams made up of one board member, and one staff member, teacher or member/volunteer will meet with groups and individuals to find the people who want to give at the $5,000 - $20,000 level. We will begin hosting donor appreciation events and quarterly donor meetings. We will let our members know that naming Clouds in their will is one way to ensure ongoing support. Our goal is to raise an additional $20,000 - $40,000 from larger donors - at least $20,000 this fiscal year (July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027).
Monthly Giving and Sustaining Sangha Program. Teams of two made up of board, staff, teachers, and/or members will meet with every current member (either individually or in groups) to find out what they love and want to support about Clouds, how we can make changes to support them better, and what level of financial support they can give. We will also be reaching out to cultivate new members. Our goals are to build strong relationships with our members, add 40 new monthly donors, and increase membership donations by $4,000 over last year's total.
Fundraising Events. In addition to our usual Give to The Max Day fall fundraiser and spring Sit-A-Thon, we will host four Tiny Temple Concert fundraising events over the next half-year with the goal of raising $10,000, plus one more small fundraiser, such as a bake sale, to raise an additional $2,000.
Grant Income. Eisho is working on securing grants. As a religious non-profit, the grant pool is limited, but there are some possibilities that she is exploring.
Capital Campaign. We are planning to start a Capital Campaign in 2028 to pay off our mortgage. Currently our mortgage principal balance is about $130,000. If we pay this off, our expenses will be reduced by almost $30,000 per year!
Reducing Expenses. We took a look at places where we could reduce some of our expenses without a drastic change in services, and we have already done that.
If we are successful, we will be able to continue to fulfill our vision to awaken the heart of great wisdom and compassion, end systemic oppression, and cultivate joy. And we will be able to continue our mission of offering meditation, classes, Dharma talks, one-to-one meetings with teachers, affinity groups, Zen training, and retreats as a practice of Sōtō Zen Buddhism and social justice. If we are not successful, we will need to make some hard choices in the next few years, such as selling our building, reducing staff, and/or an extreme reduction in programs and services.
Are you interested in helping us be successful?
Our members and participants are the lifeblood of our organization. All of you reading this have already given so much, and we are deeply grateful. If you want to help us at this particular time, here's what you can do:
Attend the Volunteer Fair at Clouds on Sunday, September 13, 10:45 - 11:45 am. It will feature all kinds of ways that you can be involved. This is in-person only, but there will be a genuinely fun Volunteer Questionnaire available soon that you can fill out if you are unable to attend.
Attend the Clouds Annual Meeting on Sunday, September 20, 9 - 11 am. At this meeting, we'll go into more detail about Clouds' finances and how you can help, as well as our usual fun review of programs and activities in the past year, and plans for the coming year. This will be hybrid - in person at Clouds and on Zoom.
If you aren't already making a monthly donation, consider doing so - either as a member or as a friend.
Volunteer to help with a specific Tiny Temple Concerts activity, such as selling tickets to your family members, neighbors, and friends, ushering or greeting on the day-of, or putting up posters around town.
Join the Development Team! Led by Eisho, this team called "The Spark" is all about cultivating relationships with sangha members, the broader community, donors and potential donors. With all the activities going on, it would be great if we could build a large development team that could then divide into smaller teams to dive into the various development projects outlined above. This includes helping plan events, developing ideas for swag, and other fun stuff.
Be a member of the teams that will be meeting with members and donors. This is a great way to get to know others in the sangha, and engage in the practice of no separation between giver, receiver and gift.
If you would like to help, or want to know more, please contact Eisho@cloudsinwater.org. You may also contact me (sosan@cloudswater.org) or our board and executive team (board@cloudsinwater.org) if you have any questions or comments.
I thank you all for taking the time to read this, and for all the gifts that you bring to our sangha. I hope to see you soon at one or more of the various events, or for regular Sunday service or classes.
With deep gratitude,
Sosan Theresa Flynn
P.S. For those who are interested in reading financial reports, please visit the Board of Directors page on our website, where you can find the most recent fiscal year end report from Studio501 (our accounting firm) along with a "Summary Financial Report to the Sangha," which shows the current budget for this fiscal year, and information from the past three years. The "Summary Financial Report to the Sangha" does not include restricted donations (such as those made to pay down the mortgage) in the contribution totals. This is so that the actual income available to pay current expenses is clear.
