This article is a resumption of the emailing sent on August 23 by the Interim Governing Body for Europe to the European Shambhala members.
Dear Shambhala Friends in Europe,
We hope you are all doing well in the midst of the current challenges in our community. This email is a follow up to a communication that was sent to all Shambhala members in Europe from the European Treasury Council in July 2018. In that email we announced that the European Council was dissolving and that an Interim Governing Body (IGB) had formed. Please click here if you wish to read that communication again.
What Is the Interim Governing Body for Europe?
We see the IGB as a temporary group whose mandate is to care for the basic day to day legal, administrative, and financial functions of Shambhala Europe GmbH until a new governing body is formed. Our purpose as a volunteer committee is to ensure that Shambhala Europe GmbH survives and is stabilized, so that new leadership can guide our community into its next phase of being. We fully support community conversations, transparency, new leaders, and the creation of new models of governance.
Update on International Transition Task Force
The developments for the creation of new government structures on an international level are proceeding on schedule. Please click here to view the latest communications from the International International Transition Task Force (ITT), sent on 7 and 18 August, 2018.
The 18 August email introduced the process of nominating new leaders for the Interim Boards of Directors and a Process Team for developing new participatory structures. We encourage those of you who are interested to please participate, so that there is good European representation in this process. Once the new leadership body for Europe is in place, the IGB can then dissolve.
Update on Shambhala Europe GmbH
As you all know, Shambhala Europe Gmbh (SE) is not doing well financially. We know this is of great concern to you, as it is to us. As soon as the extent of the problem was known in June 2018, the European Treasury Council and former European Council took action to save SE from immediate insolvency. The following is an update of the most recent actions that have been taken:
-
Christoph Schoenherr and Shambhala Europe GmbH came to a consensual agreement to end his employment as of July 31, 2018, two months earlier than the September 30, 2018 date that was previously reported.
-
A loan of 70,000 EUR to SE from the Shambhala Center of Amsterdam has now gone through with a plan in place to pay the loan in full by Shambhala Day 2020. This loan will allow SE to remain solvent until the financial situation stabilizes.
-
We continue to reduce costs where possible. All travel has been reduced to a minimum and we are reviewing all other costs.
-
We are also working on more financial transparency—both looking back, and in updating the budget looking forward. A report will follow.
-
Veronika Bauer and Katrin Stelzel are currently in the process of assuming official responsibility for the GmbH. They will serve for a limited time as interim Co-Managing Directors. Their function will be purely to keep the GmbH operational. Brief bios for Katrin and Veronika are below:
Veronika Bauer has a background in engineering and international management consultancy. She has worked as a line manager in a logistics company, and is currently still consulting internationally, as well as carrying responsibility for the finances of a family business in Germany. She served as Center Director in Munich for many years and is still responsible for Munich Center finances.
Katrin Stelzel is a registered nurse and has worked in the psychiatric field since 1992. Since 2009, she has owned and operated a psychiatric home-care service in Cologne with four employees. Katrin has served Shambhala in different roles since 1990, from terms as Rusung of the Shambhala Centers of Hamburg and Marburg, to being Center Director in Cologne.
The Importance of Shambhala Europe GmbH
We have received a number of questions about the relevance or importance of Shambhala Europe GmbH. The basic question is whether it is still needed. Having deeply considered this as a group, it is our belief that Shambhala Europe GmbH is critical to the health and efficient functioning of Shambhala in Europe, for the following reasons:
-
The Relationship of SE to Dechen Chöling
Shambhala Europe GmbH is the legal owner of Dechen Chöling and Ziji house. Dechen Chöling was purchased. It was financed in part by selling property from SE in Germany. With this history and the GmbH being a recognized non-profit organisation in Germany, donations to Dechen Chöling via SE are tax-deductible for German tax payers. This status would potentially be lost if SE dissolves.
-
A Holder of Important Legal Assets for Shambhala in Europe
Shambhala Europe GmbH holds copyrights and trademarks of Shambhala in Europe, and even beyond. It is also the beneficiary of a number of bequests already made. It would be complex, and highly inefficient for SE to dissolve, and would potentially endanger these assets.
-
Global Services in Europe
Shambhala regions, centres, and groups in Europe are recipients of services still coordinated through the remaining employees and volunteers of SE. These include, but are not limited to: program planning and scheduling; mentorship of and trainings for regional and centre leaders; Shambhala database maintenance; website updates and maintenance; centre and group transfers; administrative support (donation processing, and sub-account maintenance) for other Shambhala initiatives in Europe (Sun Camp, Encampment, European Donor Group, Sakyong Potrang, and the Ziji Collective).
Recent Global Finance Report
We felt it was important to include information about a comprehensive finance report that was sent to the global community on 15 August, as it includes information about legal entities in Europe. Please click here if you have not yet had a chance to view that report. It answers many questions that community members have been asking about Shambhala’s global financial situation.
Maintaining A Connection
In the coming weeks, we will be inviting all regional and centre directors, as well as group coordinators, to conference calls. These calls will provide more information about Shambhala in Europe, and will gather feedback on how regions, centers, and groups would like to communicate and work together going forward.
A Request For Your Support
In order to have a healthy future for the Shambhala mandala in Europe, we will need your honest input, insights, and strong support. We can only navigate through these difficult times, and establish a new foundation for a Shambhala with you—both as individuals and as an entire community. As practitioners who care for one another, we are all in this together.
We hope you will continue to engage in all your activities to support the mandala, including your financial support. The Great Eastern Sun can best shine in the world if its energy is nurtured by all of us.
To Contact Us
You can email us at: [email protected]. We will also keep communicating with you all on any new developments in the days and weeks ahead.
An Important Thank You
We felt it was important to acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of the many translators who have been working tirelessly in recent months to translate the many messages being sent to the community. We are so grateful for your invaluable service to the sangha.
With a commitment to the future of Shambhala and much love, care and appreciation for your support,
Veronika Bauer
Debbie Coats
Jani Glavina
Ed Keizer
Sabine Rolf
Faradee Rudy
Katrin Stelzel