07 Jun From the Treasurer
Dear Members,
Thanks to Doug:
The recent Conference & AGM in Montreal marked the conclusion of 7 years of Doug Wylie’s term as Treasurer of the Anthroposophical Society in Canada (ASC). In that time, Doug has kept us abreast of developments in the Registered Charities world, and has instituted a number of processes to streamline the function of the Treasury. Doug’s passion for anthroposophical economics has shone through all his work, and now with the confirmation and warm support of Members at the AGM I am honoured to do my best to fill his rather large shoes!
The solid forms and processes that Doug put in place opens up the possibility to stand on that foundation, and to see where we can all go with the concept of money as the life-blood flowing through the Society.
Money as Life-Blood; Money as Social Gesture:
I would like to engage you in a dialogue on this as Council listens into what is calling us into the future. We see some of our primary tasks as supporting Members’ activities, and continuing to foster awareness – leading to enthusiasm – for what is taking place in the Branches and groups across our vast land, as well as in the Goetheanum and elsewhere.
Two aspects are relevant here. Firstly the “blood flow” of our Society:
Annual dues are set to reflect our budgeted needs as a central Society with distributed groups and Branches and in support of Goetheanum activities, with costs shared across all of us Members. It is important that we see our contributions essentially as a social gesture; a way of working together to the best of our means, across (and despite) the miles, to support activities that are critical to the life of Anthroposophy on earth – activities that are dependent on this life-bearing flow.
One such form I would want all Members to be aware of is the Steward agreements for Branch locations. Some of our Branches have opened ASC bank accounts in their locality, and have assigned local Steward(s) to be both responsible for and accountable to the ASC for the management of funds in them. Donations received in excess of the regular Member contribution that are earmarked for a Group are not only issued an ASC tax receipt, but the funds are restricted and deposited into the Branch account to be freely managed by the local Steward(s) – within the purposes of the ASC and the tenets of our Charitable status. As long as this provision does not become an alternative to the regular annual contribution for the ASC, but rather an expanded support directed to a specific purpose at a location, it enhances the scope and effectiveness of this vital blood flow.
The second aspect has to do with our social fabric:
Our ability to meaningfully connect across this vast land; to find interest in each other; to hold each other in consciousness. Here lie opportunities for evolving Karmic connections, both new and old. And perhaps most importantly, developing a national sense of ourselves useful as a Michaelic model fit for the cosmopolitan age we live in. Your Council is looking for opportunities to foster this, and the social aspect of Treasury activities will be an essential part.
Membership Update:
Now, it is true that membership contributions are on a slow decline in the past while. To generalize, this includes a two-pronged phenomenon related to the number of young friends joining the Society, and our ageing Membership on the other side of life. We have good response calling overdue and lapsing Members to remind them of their important contribution, although we do hope that will self-correct with this recent outreach. With aging demographics we also say farewell to long standing Members as they cross the threshold. At this latter end of life, rather than there being a concept of loss, Doug will continue work in the areas of bequests and life insurance – both modern areas which enable ageing Members to make a very special contribution to the life of the Society in addition to their accumulated wisdom. On the other end of the spectrum we were very pleased with the outcome of Internet crowd funding to get our North American youth delegates to last year’s European conference.
We currently have a membership of around 500. Although relatively small, nothing bars us from innovating ways to nurture this blood flow of the ASC. Let’s start with more communication, fostering a social sense and exchanging ideas in support of the awareness, outreach and visibility of the most important message of our time.
The ingredients are there. The Council currently has more requests before it than there are funds available, which in its own way is a sign of health and activity. Another sign of health and activity is the August 2016 Encountering Our Humanity conference, nestled within La Cité collégiale campus. Be sure to register if you have not already done so. Come meet your brothers and sisters, and come away inspired to be active in your locality, knowing you have unseen friends supporting you across the miles of our vast and silently speaking land.
In warmth and appreciation,
John
La Cité Collégiale
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