June and July Meeting Minutes

Below is a document collecting together the Strategic Planning Committee meeting minutes for June and July.  June-July SPC Minutes

KCC's Financial Resources

On August 4th, The Strategic Planning Committee hosted the final of four focus groups--this one on the financial resources that support KCC.  The committee put out some valuable financial documents during the meeting, and those are reproduced below.  The first table shows our current operating costs based on the 2012 budget.   It includes all the costs associated with the Portland and Goldendale facilities and the revenues generated by retreats, bookstore, and rent, but not capital costs associated with completing construction on the long-retreat cloister.

 KCC's Operating Costs

How do we pay the bills? Each year the KCC bookstore generates about $1,700, and retreats contribute another $46,000 toward our overhead. KCC receives $6,000 in rent from the urban center residents, and we earn about $150 in interest on the money we have in the bank.  Based on our current revenue and expenses, it would take 100 people giving $78.00 per month to cover the rest of KCC’s core operating costs.

	Portland	Goldendale
Lama’s Salary & Benefits	$41,810
Caretakers’ Stipend & Benefits		$29,825
Facilities & Vehicles	$17,080	$26,050
Utilities, maintenance, insurance, taxes
Office & Administration Expense	$5,020	$1,230
Volunteer Insurance	$1,700	$3,570
Connecting with the Lineage	$6,250
Lama travel to India, hosting visiting teachers, support to Bokar Monastery
Legal & Bookkeeping Fees	$6,000
Committee Budgets	$3,900	4,500
Total	$81,760	$65,175
GRAND TOTAL	$146,935

 Hypothetical Future Operating Costs

The second table is a hypothetical using very rough (and modest) numbers to illustrate the increased costs of owning a new urban center.  The figures aren't an attempt to project actual costs, but placeholders.  We didn't know whether we'd be hiring more teaching staff or operational staff (maintenance, office, volunteer coordinator, executive director), but it seemed likely that we'd have some new staff.  The figures on mortgage and new operating costs are likewise just placeholders--it's easy to think of scenarios where the cost is more or less depending on the fundraising we do before acquiring a center and the size of the new center we acquire.  Using these very rough figures, the per-member monthly costs rise to $160 on those same 100 people.  As (or more importantly if) the sangha grew, the per-person costs would drop--$107/month at 150 people, and $80/mo with 200 people. 

	Portland	Goldendale
Lama’s Salary & Benefits	$41,810
Caretakers’ Stipend & Benefits		$29,825
New Staff or Teaching Position Salary, payroll taxes, and benefits Facilities & Vehicles	$45,000 $17,080	$26,050
Utilities, maintenance, insurance, taxes
$500,000 Mortgage on New Center New Center Operating Costs Utilities, maintenance, insurance Office & Administration Expense	$30,400 $24,000 $5,020	$1,230
Volunteer Insurance	$1,700	$3,570
Connecting with the Lineage	$6,250
Lama travel to India, hosting visiting teachers, support to Bokar Monastery
Legal & Bookkeeping Fees	$6,000
Committee Budgets	$3,900	4,500
Total	$181,160	$65,175
GRAND TOTAL	$246,335

New Urban Center: A Question of When

Beginning in June, the Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) convened a series of four focus groups to talk about central issues raised in our strategic planning process.  The second meeting revolved around the idea of a new urban center and which configuration would best meet KCC's needs.  We broke into small groups, where we considered five different facilities currently on the market.  The idea behind this focus group was to begin to see where the community's priorities lay: a smaller center we could use in the short term, a more expansive center that would accommodate more functions as KCC grows, or some combination of the two.  

One thing that wasn't explicitly on the agenda was when we might pursue a new urban center.  It has been the policy of the board that we first raise all funds necessary to complete the long retreat cloister at Ser Cho Osel Ling; the SPC has therefore been operating under the assumption that this is at least months and probably years in the future.  Yet the opportunity to buy the St Mark's building two blocks from KCC got some members of the sangha excited.  In an email to the Community listserv, one member wrote:

And yet for me, as a relatively new member of seven years or so, the contemplation of an expanded urban center has ignited excitement, enthusiasm, and a heart-felt passion that says YES! We CAN do this! We MUST do this! Our Monroe Street home is a place where we go to sit, to receive superb teachings, and to feel somewhat connected to other practitioners. But it’s not a place where we go to get to know one another very easily. We squish into the kitchen for tea, and hope to find a seat for the potluck lunch on the 1st Sunday of the month.

KCC's current urban center was designed to be a residence, not a meeting place.  It's too small and the configuration doesn't work.  This isn't a new situation, either--the sangha outgrew its current home sometime in the mid-1990s, and that's when members first started talking about moving.  Yet there are also serious challenges to moving.  Next spring, the first of the long retreats begins at SCOL.  We've been building facilities in Goldendale since 2000, and the prospect of launching another major initiative is daunting.  Moving to a new home will cost money and consume enormous volunteer effort.  If KCC were to decide to go into debt to finance the move--something it hasn't done in Goldendale--it would create a new level of financial risk.  Even as some people express excitement at the prospect, others have misgivings; at the financial resources focus group, one small group returned with the recommendation to delay finding a new center for those reasons.

When KCC began exploring the idea of building a rural retreat center in the late 1990s, it seemed like a pipe dream.  Inspirations sprang from the enthusiasm of a small group, and over time, the center continued to discuss it and dream about it.  KCC set up a planning committee to study the possibility.  In 1999, a large contingent from Portland visited Mirik and discussed the prospect with Bokar Rinpoche, who encouraged us to pursue it. By the time the community met for its annual sangha meeting after that trip, almost everyone at the center was behind the plan.

That was a fascinating real-time experiment.  None of us knew anything about running a retreat center, and only a tiny fraction of us had any direct experience with extended retreat.  At the time, it seemed like such a facility would only be used by a small portion of the sangha.  And yet, by the time we decided to pursue it, nearly the entire community (90% or more) had coalesced behind the plan.  What followed was one of the most remarkable projects I've ever witnessed--that a center our size could raise funds and build a state-of-the-art, multimillion-dollar facility is unbelievable.

By comparison, finding a new urban center seems like small potatoes.  But only by comparison.  In the event, it will require a huge amount of effort by dozens of volunteers, a new campaign to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars, and months of work and transition.  KCC has proven we are eminently capable of managing a project like this, but the sangha has to fully support it first.  Most things in a small volunteer organization happen when there are champions to make sure they happen.  On the SPC, we're doing our best to assess the energy and support for a new center--that will go a long way toward answering the question of when.  The KCC Board of Directors recently confirmed that we need to complete fundraising on SCOL before pursuing a new urban center.  Whether we begin looking for a place immediately thereafter or wait--this remains a real puzzle.

We'll have to just keep talking to each other.


The posts on this blog have been written to reflect the intention and work of the Strategic Planning Committee.  This post, written by Jeff Alworth, has more editorial content and may not reflect the opinion of the strategic planning committee. 

Talking About Money

Financial Resources Focus Group

Saturday, August 4th, 10am to 1pm

KCC, 73 NE Monroe

Food will be provided after the meeting for all who wish to stay

A Dharma center requires funds to operate, and a discussion of finances can begin with line-items on a budget.  Yet even before we get to the brass tacks of donations and budgets, there's the larger questions around our values around money and our relationship to giving and spending.  Every church and nonprofit has an implicit culture toward money.  In our small group sessions during this focus group, we'll consider both halves of the equation.

1.  The question of money can raise an emotional response, particularly when it relates to the precious Dharma.  On the one hand, as practitioners we feel that it should be made free to everyone, but on the other, it takes money and energy to support the activities of KCC.  The way we negotiate this tension creates the culture we develop around money and the Dharma.  Consider for a moment what our culture of giving says about this relationship.  Does KCC have the balance right?  What should our culture be? 

• Our organization reflects its values by making sure retreats earn a small profit but also offering scholarships to make all retreats accessible, and raising the rest through pledges.  Organizations like public radio have a membership model where people pledge certain amounts; Christian churches ask members to tithe.  Do you have any opinion about how KCC ought to ask for money?
• How do we think about giving in relationship to our practice?  When is it okay to say no to giving more money?

2.  Now let's think about brass tacks: how to support the activities at KCC.  Over the next five years, we'll begin to see costs stabilize as we operate long retreats at SCOL; still, costs could be as high as $100 per person per month--more money than we currently raise.  That means we could ask members to give more, find another way to raise revenues, or cut back on programs. 

• How would you feel about paying $100 a month?
• If you can't afford that much or think it is too much, is there something you'd be willing to get rid of (a new urban center, certain programs, teachers, etc.)?
• Are there other programs or events KCC might sponsor to raise more funds?

These are weighty subjects, and we don't expect the sangha to balance a budget in this meeting--we're just inquiring to get a sense of your current needs and priorities.  This will be an ongoing discussion as the strategic plan comes into focus.  If you're able to attend the meeting, spend a few minutes thinking about these questions.  If you're not able to attend but would like to forward your thoughts, email them to kcc.portland(at)yahoo.com and we will add them to the discussion.

Report on Programs Focus Group

On June 23rd, KCC conducted the first of four public focus groups as a part of our strategic planning process.  We asked people to consider four questions in advance of and during the focus group:

1. What do you feel you need to help your practice grow now and in the coming years?
2. The mission andvision included a number of aspirations related to programs and activities. Are these aspirations being fulfilled for you personally?
3. Lama Michael recently said, “If long retreats hadn’t happened, we wouldn’t be here at all.” What kind of connection do you see between long retreats and the benefits you receive at KCC?
4. During the SWOT in January, the Sangha raised a number of ideas for programs where the Sangha would interact and support each other more.  [A list was included.]  How important are these for you, and how would you see yourself being part of this?

Thanks to the hard work of Peter Frothingham, we now have the responses available for you to peruse.  In the embedded document below, the first four pages were the responses given by small groups at the focus group and the second four were written responses.  

Roughly 30 members were able to attend the focus group, and the small group discussions were rich and varied. After the meeting, the Strategic Planning Committee met and discussed what we learned from the process, and we all felt it was most useful.  The programs of meditation, retreat, and study offered at KCC mainly fall in the purview of Lama Michael Conklin and the the Program Council, but your candid responses will help shape the way they think about those programs, how they prioritize them, and will inform program development in the coming years.

It was a great joy to see the sangha's interest and engagement with the first focus group.  We hope to see you this Sunday from 2-5 pm for the second focus group.  If you can't make it, consider commenting at the blog.  I will report back about that meeting in the next week or two.  

Program Focus Group Input

So You Want a New Urban Center?

The Urban Center focus group will be held at KCC on Sunday, June 8 from 2-5pm.  Hanna Karlin is arranging a post-meeting feast.  Please come if you can--

___________

KCC is in the midst of a strategic planning process, and we're seeking sangha input during four summer focus groups.  In the second of the series, we will discuss the issues involved with finding a new urban center.  This issue has easily been the longest to mature.  As one of the strategic planners, Dora DeCoursey has pointed out, we've been considering it for 17 years.  Over the course of those years, members of the sangha in forms official, quasi-official, and wholly unofficial, have taken tours of buildings all around the city.  (I--Jeff Alworth--remember visiting a very cool site in Multnomah Village in about 1998; West Siders may know it now as the Lucky Lab.)

Even as we've been preparing for this focus group, the interest in an urban center has inspired a new wave of visits to sites in North and Northeast Portland.  If you cock your head just so, every one of them has the potential to be our next center.  Indeed, in some cases you have to tilt your head very little to imagine a tranquil room full of meditators.

But when any two people begin talking about a potential building, they wonder how well it would "work."  Turns out this is a thornier question than it sounds.  What works for one set of assumptions doesn't with another set.  So we decided to step back and consider KCC's needs separate from any particular building.  A number of criteria have been worked up over the years, like a size range for the meditation hall, number of rooms for interviews, classes, office space, and so on, the need for ADA accessibility, parking, and location.  We've compiled those for handy reference.  But there are a range of strategic areas that can't be quantified.  As the strategic planning committee considered this, we started with KCC's vision statement, which has a number of useful hints.  Then we made up a list to try to capture the variables:

1.  Size and Phasing.  What type of building should we be looking for and on what timeline? 

KCC currently has an active sangha of 100 people, and we can squeeze only about half that into our meditation space.  What size building do we need in the short term, the medium term, and the long term?  How do we build flexibility into the building and allow for change in sangha size we know will come over the years and decades?  Should the building be an interim or final destination?

2.  Physical/logistical criteria.  How well does the building serve the needs of the sangha in the full cycle of a week, month, or year?

How will the building handle current activities and future needs?  Will someone staff it during the day?  Will there be residents on-site?  How it will be used when formal practice isn't happening?  Does it it encourages incidental sangha interaction (can sangha members drop in, do practice, and do committee work)?

3. Financial sustainability.  Can we afford to operate the building?  Will the building help pay for itself by drawing people in and supporting our activities?

Buildings cost money, but they also make it possible for money to flow in.  A very small building that doesn't encourage sangha growth and engagement may make worse financial shape than one that brings in and sustains a larger, healthier sangha: what elements do we need to encourage a positive balance?  Is there a way for the building to generate funds or otherwise support KCC?

4. Place of Engagement and Support.  What do we need to consider to create a place where people want to come together and where they feel supported?

What kind of spaces will make this a center where people are drawn to do practice and form a healthy community?  One way to think of this is different cohort groups--young people, families, older people.   Another way is to think of different functions, like a common meeting space (with or without an espresso machine!) or as a place with a dharma focal point (think of how the Kudung Shrine room functions in Bokar Monastery). How could the space inspire? What kind of atmosphere should the building provide?

5. Integration with SCOL.  How does the urban center support the coming and going of sangha on long retreat and serve as a place where that deep practice can benefit the larger community?

Should the building have residential space for retreat transition or space for personal retreats?  What other ways might the building help those preparing for or coming out of longer cloistered retreats?

Parameters For a New Urban Center

Over the years, the KCC Board, committees, and sangha members have contemplated a new urban center, and the fall 2010 sangha meeting focused on this. The following considerations have emerged. This is not a formally adopted list of criteria, but more a summary of the conversation so far.

Qualitative considerations for a new center

• Room to grow
• Close-in location
• Easy access by bike and public transport
• Homey feeling
• Inspiring space
• Proper zoning
• Simple, avoid volunteer burn out
• Economical, avoid debt
• Quiet ambiance 

What will we actually do in our new urban center? What does the facility need to support? The following list includes an expansive vision of what could happen at a new urban center. KCC will need to decide which of these activities must be accommodated, which ones are "nice to have," and which ones are not on the docket at this time.

• Regular group meditations
• Classes and study groups for adults
• Dharma day care and programs for children, teens
• Gatherings of the Sangha for center business
• Operations, bookkeeping and other management activities
• Meetings of the Board of Directors and Committees
• Personal interviews with teachers
• Informal sangha interactions
• Potlucks and urban retreat cooking
• Urban retreats
• Periods with two concurrent programs (e.g., Sunday sit and weekend retreat)
• Storage for chairs, tables and other equipment for regular and special events
• Hosting visiting Lamas- lodging and food
• Bookstore
• Library
• Outdoor gathering, contemplation, children's play
• Housing for residential trainees, volunteers, and/or long retreatants in transition
• Parking--car and bike 

What does a building need to have to accommodate the uses?

• Meditation hall to seat 150-200 people, about 1800-2000 sq ft.
• Second practice space to seat 20, about 250 sq. ft. (could double as classroom)
• Kitchen
• Eating and social area
• Class/meeting rooms, 1 or more
• Kids' rooms, 2 or more
• Office, 1 or more
• Interview room, 1 or more
• Bookstore area or room
• Storage room, 1 or more
• Possibility to make ADA accessible
• Parking
• Outdoor space
• Residential space (depends on use)