Be Enterprising or be a Host: Hilaria Dette

Be Enterprising or be a Host: Hilaria Dette

How to solve the structural deficit of the World Subud Association by the Treasurer of the World Subud Association

Dear brothers and sisters,

It has been 35 years this summer that I have been opened in the Wiesbaden group in Germany. In my time as an applicant when reading Bapak’s talks I didn’t understand him repeatedly saying we should be enterprising. Now, serving as treasurer for WSA, I finally can experience first-hand, why Bapak encouraged us to be enterprising. I see this in the broader sense of living an entrepreneurial spirit and making things happen. Bapak must have foreseen, that we would need the entrepreneurial spirit of individual members for the sustainability of Subud.

After this introduction let me present the current financial situation shown in Q 3 (our report of the WSA finances from January to September 2017) which you can see here.

The gap between income and expenses has increased to USD 94,000. When talking to predecessors, I found out they all experienced such a situation themselves and had created a budget line for “extra fundraising” on the income side. For me it is the fourth year, chasing after funds in the last quarter.

Comparing our WSA situation with my daily life work on the state finances I expressed our situation as follows: “We have a structural deficit, not a cyclical deficit”. Let me explain why.

For 2017 we budgeted USD 527,400. The income from zones and countries for years only covered about 33 percent of the annual needs. Up to the end of September, we received USD 135,000. Wouldn’t you expect an umbrella organization being funded at 100 percent through their members?

When talking to a national chair the other day, he asked me: “do the national chairs know?” Half of the member countries might know but do not contribute even if they were able to. Raising their awareness is work in progress.

Through the Muhammad Subuh Foundation, we receive up to 20 percent in the best case. In the past years, some donations have been sent through MSF. We were fortunate to get grants also from the Guerrand Hermes Foundation for Peace. But we should not depend on grants.

For several years now, we are depending on USD 100,000 (about 20 percent of the total budget) coming in from one generous entrepreneur (a huge thank you). He wanted to encourage others to contribute as well, therefore he promised to match all individual, group and additional countries’ contributions up to USD 100,000. Last year we were able to reach this target.

From individuals, until now we have received about USD 40,000 (less than 10 percent). To meet the matching fund (mentioned above), another USD 60,000 is needed.

To sum it up: The annual structural deficit is about USD 100,000 (20 percent). With another USD 100,000, we could manage to cover the minimum expenses.

Looking at our homework from the Puebla congress we are working to create a vessel – “the pot of gold” – for the long-term funding of Subud. For this as well, your entrepreneurial spirit and skills are needed. The technical side is work in progress. I trust, as soon as the vessel is prepared money may come in.

One approach could be to let our Subud houses work for us: rent them out and contribute to Subud needs on the local, regional, national and international level. Some very successful groups sent money to the WSA last year. Hopefully, they will do so again.

Another idea – be a host: You could serve a cup of coffee and some cakes, giving a party in your Subud house. Ask for a donation and collect it in your group and later send the whole bunch through your national Subud organization to the WSA. If each individual member sends the equivalent of a cup of coffee per week we would be able to cover the basic needs. From the large donations and enterprise contributions, we can fill the “pot of gold” for future investments.

How does the World Subud Association carry on Bapak’s Mission?

International helpers are visiting countries and support helpers during zonal meetings. From January to September 2017 they spent around USD 100,000 which is less than their expenses in the previous year.

To preserve Bapak’s legacy and make the talks available to members up to now we spent less than by September last year. So far, we have sent a contribution of only USD 15,000 to Subud Publications International (SPI). We hope to be able to send the outstanding USD 10,000 by the end of the year.

The Human activities program is comparable with former years. The expenses were lower as there has not been a Human Force camp. For zonal meetings in Africa, we sent about USD 15,000 by end of September. The Zone 5 meeting will take place beginning of November in Cape Town.

The expenses for the supporting services (USD 126,000) are below the previous year. This includes travels of the zone representatives, the chairs of WSA and the executive team.

Brothers and sisters, with joint efforts we will and make funds find their way to WSA for current and for future needs, including more human activities.

Love and blessings,

Hilaria

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