NORTHWEST FOUNDATION FOR A COURSE IN MIRACLES
Kingston, Washington
Paul
Norman Tuttle
Executive
Director
P.O.
Box 1490
Kingston,
WA 98346-1490
USA
Phone:
360-297-4877
24-HR.
FAX: 360-297-7222
COMPUSERVE
ID# 72172,334
INTERNET:
rajpur@aloha.net
Dear friends,
It is with a great deal of
joy that this Newsletter is sent out. I trust that you will enjoy it. The
Foundation has relocated, unpacked, and begins to function once again, and it
feels good.
There is much
that everyone wants us to do, including the publication of the Newsletter with
regularity, once again holding Gatherings, and making the Gatherings available
in print for the first time—to name just a few. However, having sent this issue
on its way, we are unable to proceed. And so, I would like to take a moment to
share again the unusual means by which the Foundation functions, since I am
aware that there is some misunderstanding.
I have shared
before that all audio tapes, newsletters, and books available through the
Foundation have been provided "at cost," meaning that the minimal
amount charged for them covered only the cost of materials and postage. In
spite of this, many have assumed that the words "at cost" meant that
all normal business expenses necessary to making the materials available were
included—with no additional profit
built in. This was incorrect.
The
Foundation has, in the past, met all of its operating expenses solely from the
generosity and love expressed through contributions—love reflected in love.
And, at my direction, it has taken no steps to secure an independent financial
base from which to operate—no grants have been sought and no investments have
been made—nor will any steps of this sort be taken in the future. To its
discredit, it has been suggested that the Foundation does not conduct itself in
a business-like manner. But, to its credit, I confirm that it does not, because it is not a business.
Although it is true that
non-profit corporations are allowed
by law to generate nontaxable profit and even become megalithic structures
capable of providing financial endowments themselves,
from first to last the Foundation embodies only the gift of brotherly love,
and if it could be done without any structure, it would. Indeed, the simple
fact is that the non-profit corporate structure under which the Foundation
operates is a "suffer it to be so now," a "rendering unto Caesar
the things that are Caesar's," since the law requires an accounting of the
movement of money. And the structure is
utilized because it allows the expression of love received in the form of
contributions to remain wholly available to the Foundation's activities,
undepleted by income taxes.
In light of current maximal
contributions from a decreasing number of contributors, normal business
practices would call for the instituting of controls for survival—establishing charges for what in the
past it freely gave, increasing charges
for what it provided at cost, and forbidding
the duplication and sharing of the materials provided by the Foundation to
insure maximum income. That is not consistent with my Purpose.
And so, to
make everything utterly and unmistakably clear, I would like to share that from
now on, all activities of the Foundation and all materials it makes available,
including the Newsletter, will be provided without
charge of any kind. In addition, during this next year the printed
materials will be made available on the Internet, freely accessible around the
globe, together with permission to copy and share them without restriction.
In order to
do these things, the Foundation will rely solely upon the voluntary
contributions and ongoing support of those who wish to participate in making
the Raj Materials available wherever there is an inquiring mind. You are
invited to join with those whose financial participation will make possible
this global networking and sharing by sending your tax-deductible contributions
to:
NWFFACIM
P.O. Box 1490
Kingston, WA 98346
USA
You see, rather than
embodying its existence as a business
entity, together with the supposed "need to survive," the
Foundation embodies the nature of my
Purpose, which is the extension of love—brotherly love. Its goal is inclusion,
embrace. Therefore, in all respects, it expresses the meaning of Gift. And so,
instead of instituting controls for survival, we make it all a Gift, and start out 1995 not only in a new home, but on a
clear basis.
Joined in
Brotherhood that only "looks like" business, we will continue to walk
together in the Gift of Love, however that
might look.
Kingston, Washington
March 9, 1995