2014 Shambhala Chicago Annual Report
February 12, 2015
Dear Members and Friends of Chicago Shambhala,
This was a watershed year for Shambhala Chicago and all of you deserve a standing ovation for making it possible. Your contributions of time, effort, expertise and financial support were truly inspiring.
After ending 2013 without a permanent home, the Shambhala staff moved into our still under construction West Loop facility in late January, 2014 to begin preparing to open our new location. With the help of many volunteers, we opened our doors to the public on March 19, hosting a series of Grand Opening events culminating in a reception and ribbon cutting with Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche.
Since many of our members live on the North Side, we decided to rent a small space in Edgewater, both to accommodate weekly sittings and to serve as a temporary location for holding some of our programs during our transition.
Even with the challenges of construction delays, moving in and getting settled in our new space, we were able to hold over 80 classes, programs and community events in 2014. In addition we held weekly open houses in the West Loop, Edgewater, Oak Park, Des Plaines, Hyde Park and Libertyville.
Our community has grown significantly this year as we welcomed over 50 new members in 2014 and many more friends who regularly attend open houses, classes and other events. I don’t have a precise count, but I am certain that Chicago Shambhala has engaged with more people in the past year than ever before.
This is especially true in the area of outreach. Sakyong Mipham led two programs when he visited Chicago in March. One was a meditation program for eighty community organization staff members and inner city youth assisted by Acharyas Gaylon Ferguson and Arawana Hayashi. The other was a training exploring what it means to create enlightened society assisted by Acharya Fleet Maull. This summer and fall we worked with 450 students at Orr High School, where six of our instructors listened, learned and provided mindfulness instruction. We also began training the entire staff of Chicago CeaseFire, the local affiliate of Cure Violence. Both of these projects were made possible by grants from the Lentz foundation and the Shambhala Trust. Through a grant obtained by Rush Medical Center, we were able to conducted mindfulness training for palliative care physicians, nurses and social workers as part of an eight week class. In addition, we conducted several mindfulness workshops for businesses and non-profits.
Community building has been an important focus this year. We offered Peace Circle training this year and have begun to convene monthly community peace circles where we can safely be heard and listen to each other on a variety of topics. Our Societal Health and Wellbeing team rolled out a new deleg system, assigning members geographically to groups that will meet regularly, providing opportunities for members to strengthen relationships and improve communications across our expanding community.
Again with the leadership of SHWB we instituted a monthly community practice and potluck. We also created a biweekly member newsletter to improve communication and keep us informed on events and the happenings of our members.
Although we ended 2014 with expenses exceeding income by nearly $56,000, this was not unexpected and was paid for from proceeds of the sale of our Rogers Park building. The deficit was essentially due to onetime costs and reduced program income associated with the transition to the West Loop and the increased operating expenses and personnel costs required to run and maintain 37 N Carpenter.
Thanks to the over $51,000 in onetime and new and increased monthly contributions raised during the Tiger’s Confidence Campaign in the fourth quarter of 2014, we entered 2015 with a strong balance sheet. We ended 2014 with current assets (cash and short term investments) of over $68,000. In addition, we are beginning to experience significant growth in program revenue, monthly membership contributions, and donations. We are also realizing new sources of revenue from organizational training, rental income and grants.
Our 2014 Income and Expense Statement and Balance Sheet are linked here.
There was another important achievement in 2014. Shambhala Chicago leadership, with input from many members of our community, completed an extensive strategic planning process that resulted in a detailed 3 year plan. We will share the final Shambhala Chicago 2015-2018 Strategic Plan on Shambhala Day, when it will be posted on our website.
This will be my last year as Executive Director of Shambhala Chicago and I am looking forward to working together with all of you in continuing to strengthen and grow Shambhala Chicago and applying the practices of meditation, community and social engagement. I am inspired to be a part of a community that values the goodness in each of us and which is not afraid to reach out and engage wholeheartedly with each other and with the world around us.
With warmth and appreciation,
Tom Adducci
Executive Director, Shambhala Chicago
