Annual Report 2013-2014 Chenrezig Inc. Executive Committee Chairperson: Christine Jones Executive members: Ven. Lozang Tsondru, Peter Shepherd, Roseanne Muller, Rhianon Vichta, Sue Luton Director: Michael Gardner
1. Contents 1. Contents... 1 2. Message from the Chair of the Executive Committee... 2 3. Overview of Chenrezig Institute s Operations... 3 Organisational Structure... 3 4. Programme Highlights... 4 5. Organisational Transformation... 7 A. Corporate Image and Mission... 7 B. CI Culture and Community... 8 6. Improving Our Services and Infrastructure... 10 A. Facilities and Services... 10 B. Infrastructure... 11 C. Administrative Streamlining... 12 7. Compliance Updates... 13 8. Community Reports... 14 C. CI Arts, Garden of Enlightenment and Enlightenment Project (by Garrey Foulkes)... 14 B. Chenrezig Nuns Community (by Ven. Lozang Lhagsam)... 15 C. Chenrezig Monks Community (Lozang Dragpa Monastery)... 15 9. Financial Adjustments and Performance... 16 A. Building Sustainable Financial Operations... 16 B. Performance... 16 C. Donations and Bequests... 17 10. The Year Ahead... 18 1
2. Message from the Chair of the Executive Committee There is always plenty going on at Chenrezig Institute and 2014 has been no exception. In fact, from the Executive Committee's point of view it might have been one of our busiest years yet. Our habit of grasping at permanence has been continually undermined with a new director stepping forward, a number of Executive Committee members coming and going, Geshe Jamyang resigning and Geshe Tsultrim arriving, as well as many other day to day events. We kicked off the year with an intensive weekend workshop to review and discuss the strategic direction for the centre, creating a new mission statement as well as refining our values. We created budgeting priorities for the twelve month period after we had worked closely with Michael Gardner to review our current situation, our risks, our opportunities, shortfalls and strengths. We have been busy clarifying and resolving issues around building and tenancy, infrastructure, finance, health and safety, compliance, governance, cultural issues and enhancing harmony within the centre. We cannot thank Michael enough for all of his valuable insight and knowledge in many of these areas, especially his strong focus on developing harmony, which we know is something Lama Zopa Rinpoche strongly emphasises. Whilst all of these issues have been discussed and resolved behind the scenes by the committee and staff, the main purpose of the centre, to be working towards liberating as many sentient beings as possible, continues to flourish. We can rejoice in the large numbers of people who have listened to Dharma, reflected on its meaning and meditated to deepen their understanding. We can rejoice in the priceless teachings, advice and personal interactions we have had with all of our great teachers, especially Khadro-la and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. We can rejoice in all of the different study programs and courses being taught, virtually seven days a week. We feel like we have made significant progress but the job is far from over. It is not only the responsibility of the incoming Executive Committee to ensure the long term sustainability of the centre but each and every one of us who wants the centre to continue, needs to work hard in whatever way we can. Our mission statement 'By practising kindness and wisdom, we change ourselves for the benefit of others' indicates where to begin. We are so fortunate that as a modern day western organisation we have the Dharma to support and direct us along the correct path. A huge, huge, huge thank you to all of the staff and volunteers who worked tirelessly day and night under often challenging circumstances. It is these individuals going above and beyond the call of duty that keeps the wheels of the centre turning. There are too many people to thank and I don't want to exclude anyone so a huge thank you to all of you for being part of Chenrezig Institute s community and for supporting us along the way. Christine Jones Executive Committee Chairperson Chenrezig Inc. 2
3. Overview of Chenrezig Institute s Operations Chenrezig Inc. is an incorporated association (number IA33961) under Queensland law. The Association is dedicated to creating and providing opportunities for people to be introduced to, study, practice and experience the FPMT lineage of the Mahayana Tradition. It is affiliated with FPMT Inc., an organization devoted to the worldwide transmission of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and values through teaching, meditation and community service. FPMT Inc. and its affiliates provide integrated education through which people s minds and hearts can be transformed into their highest potential for the benefit of others, inspired by an attitude of universal responsibility. The organization is based on the Buddhist tradition of Lama Tsong Khapa of Tibet as taught to us by our founder, Lama Thubten Yeshe and our spiritual Director, Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche. CI Inc. is also affiliated with the Australian office of FPMT Inc., FPMTA and utilises the policies and procedures set forth by FPMTA. CI Inc. encompasses a number of projects and entities, including the Garden of Enlightenment, Enlightenment Project for Purification and Merit, Chenrezig Arts, Chenrezig Nuns Community (CNC) and Lozang Dragpa Monastery (LDM). Organisational Structure 3
4. Programme Highlights The centre hosted over 100 teachings, events and retreats over the 2013/ 2014 financial year. These ranged from secular and alternative programmes, art courses and meditation retreats to more advanced Geshe and Master s Programme teachings. Over 2 500 people enrolled in one or more teachings over the course of the year. Additionally, a large number of people visited the centre for Dharma club, yoga retreats, open days, holy day events or just to explore the centre and eat in the café. The vitality of the centre s activities is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our teaching staff, Gompa manager, SPC and volunteers. We are deeply indebted to them for enabling us to benefit so many. Highlights of the year s programme included: Maitreya Loving-kindness Relic Tour In March, the Maitreya Loving-kindness Relic Tour visited CI for the first time. The tour coincided with Losar and Lama Yeshe Day, and a beautiful Shakyamuni Buddha Puja was held in the presence of the relics. Hundreds of visitors came to view the relics many bringing beloved pets to be blessed. A Retreat with Khadro-la: Illuminating the Path of Wisdom and Compassion In April 2014 Khadro-la visited Chenrezig Institute on her first Australia tour and led a remarkable week-long retreat attended by approximately 120 people. We were incredibly fortunate to be able to receive such direct and heartfelt instructions from this wonderful teacher. Completion of Master s Programme and Farewell to Geshe Jamyang At the end of May, our full time Advanced Programme students completed the two-year Madhyamika module of the Master s Programme. Congratulations to everyone involved! The end of the Master s Programme also saw the departure of our resident Geshe, Geshe Lobsang Jamyang. Geshe-la has given many precious teachings over the course of his 9 years at Chenrezig Institute. We are all profoundly grateful for Geshe-la s teachings, advice and selfless dedication. Geshe Jamyang leaves behind a solid legacy which will stay with us as we welcome our new Geshe and begin a new round of the Basic Programme later this year. 4
Chenrezig Day In 2000, Lama Zopa Rinpoche requested that Chenrezig Institute hold an annual event in which the huge 1000 Arm Chenrezig Thangka, given to the centre by Rinpoche, was raised. The thangka was raised for the first time in many years at a community day tea party on the 15 th June close to Saka Dawa, the end of the Nyung Nay retreat and the anniversary of His Holiness the Dalai Lama s visit to the centre. A new enclosure for the thangka is planned in order to make this event less dependent on weather so that we can fulfil Rinpoche s wishes for an annual display. Shamatha Retreat In keeping with Lama Zopa Rinpoche s wishes that students cultivate calm-abiding, TY Alexander led another week-long Shamatha retreat at the end of the financial year. The retreat was attended by 43 people and, based on the feedback from participants, proved incredibly beneficial and transformative. FPMTA National Meeting The directors, SPCs and registered teachers of FPMT centres in Australia gathered at Chenrezig Institute in early October 2013 for the annual FPMTA meeting. This was a great opportunity for the centre to reconnect with the wider family of FPMT students and discuss ways of working together to strengthen the organisation. Sponsored Courses The centre freely offered twelve courses and one retreat during the financial year. This included eight sponsored Geshe weekend courses all of which proved immensely popular. The programme committee has worked hard to ensure that these courses are on more accessible topics, so they can bring the most benefit to the numerous first-time students that attend. 5
Annual Retreats Every year the centre offers a number of retreats, and once again these proved very popular. Big Love Retreat led by Ven. Lozang Pema (Lisa Perry): This sponsored retreat focussing on meditation on compassion was attended by 34 people the largest number of participants in many years! Year-end Purification Retreat led by Ven. Lozang Drolma: This retreat marked a change from the Year-end Vajrasattva retreat. While the focus was still on purification, a more secular and accessible approach was taken by Ven. Drolma. It proved to be extremely popular with 72 people attending and many commenting on what a beneficial experience it had been. Kopan Downunder with Geshe Jamyang and Tenzin Tsepal: This year s Lam-rim retreat took place over two weeks allowing more time for meditation and reflection. In total, 55 people took part, with many others attending single days or sessions. Mahayana Vipassana retreat with TY Alexander: TY led her second annual Vipassana retreat over the Australia Day long weekend. With 51 attendants, this has proved to be one of our most successful additions to the programme. 8 Nyung Nays led by Ven. Ailsa Cameron: 40 people completed at least one nyung nay this year, with13 amazingly dedicated retreatants completing all eight nyung nays! Thank you to Ven. Ailsa for leading this retreat yet again. Visiting Teachers The centre and its students benefitted greatly from the knowledge and skills of many wonderful visiting teachers. They included Geshe Tashi Tsering, Ven. Thubten Chodron, Ven. Robina Courtin, Jampa Ignyen, Alan Carter, Wai Cheong Kok, Renate Ogilvie, NeLi Martin, Sam Clarke, Miffi Maxmillion and artist Andy Weber. We are extremely grateful to all for giving so generously of their time. Without their generosity, the centre would not be able to survive. Invitation to Lama Zopa Rinpoche for CI s 40 th Anniversary In January, the centre invited Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche to give teachings and attend Chenrezig Institute s 40 th Anniversary celebrations. Rinpoche very kindly agreed to visit the centre and give a Great Chenrezig Initiation. Most of the second half of the year has been taken up with preparations for these events a huge task accomplished through the kindness of the organising committee. Thank you! 6
5. Organisational Transformation A. Corporate Image and Mission A New Mission Statement After a strategic survey conducted in January, the Executive Committee reformulated the centre s mission statement and values. The new mission statement By practising kindness and wisdom we change ourselves for the benefit of others acknowledges that cultural and social transformation begins with working on our own spiritual development. Updated Logo We now have a full colour version of our new logo, thanks to the artwork of Ray Furminger! Lama Zopa Rinpoche was extremely pleased with the new design. The logo forms the cornerstone of all our new marketing and publicity material. New Website! Our website is the first and most frequent channel of interaction for our visitors, students and residents with the centre, so a huge amount of work was invested in replacing the tired green monster with a modern, easy to maintain and attractive new site. The new WordPress-powered website went live on Saka Dawa and has been greeted with great enthusiasm. A massive thank you to Eva Mueller for all her work creating the designs for the site! 7
B. CI Culture and Community Strategic Survey, Workshop and Value Statement The Executive Committee carried out a strategic survey to gather input from all our sangha, staff, students, members, residents and visitors. The questionnaire focussed on how the centre was perceived, as well as what changes to the culture, infrastructure and services might be most needed. The Executive Committee and senior staff spent a weekend working with external facilitators devising a statement of values, defining the new mission statement and drawing up a list of strategic priorities. These were refined over the course of the year and used as guiding objectives for the Executive s work. It is hoped that the new Executive Committee will continue to use and build on this approach. Community Meetings and Afternoon Teas At the start of the year residents and members expressed a wish for increased communication with the Executive Committee and centre management team. In order to encourage open and honest communication, a community meeting has been held each quarter. Although only a first step, it is hoped that these coupled with relaxed afternoon tea parties, have allowed voices to be heard and have strengthened the bonds of friendship between all parts of our CI family. Grievance Committee To ensure that everyone has the opportunity to bring serious issues in the centre to light, a Grievance Committee has been created. The Committee assesses complaints and reports to the Executive Committee. It is independent of both the director and the Executive chairperson. The current Grievance Committee members are Ven. Tenzin Tsepal (main Western teacher), Eva Mueller (SPC), Ven. Lhagsam and Ven. Lozang Tsondru. The Grievance Committee has its own email address: grievance@chenrezig.com.au. Clarifying Roles and Responsibilities There has been a concerted effort to clarify the roles of the Executive Committee, Director, department managers, working groups and staff members that contribute to the running of the centre (see organisational Structure chart). As part of this, the Director took a non-voting role on the Executive Committee. This has helped embed the fact that the Executive Committee has overall authority for the strategic, legal and financial welfare of the centre. Focussing on Our Main Purpose A policy governing long-term guests was created and implemented in September 2013. This ensures that visitors can only stay on the property for longer than two weeks if they are engaged in full time study or retreat or are offering service full time. Focussing on our main priority as a Dharma centre in this way has had a dramatic impact on the efficiency of centre operations and has reduced the number of problematic incidents on site. 8
Our New Resident Geshe: Geshe Phuntsok Tsultrim After Geshe Jamyang announced his departure, Lama Zopa Rinpoche appointed Geshe Phuntsok Tsultrim as our new Geshe. Geshe-la has been highly praised by a number of prominent teachers from the main Tibetan monasteries in India, and shares a close connection with Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Chenrezig Institute applied for and was granted the ability to sponsor Geshe-la s visa. Impermanence at Work In addition to Geshe Jamyang, this year saw the departure of Maureen Walshe (Director), Ven. Lozang Tsultrim (Executive Committee Chairperson), Ven. Lozang Drolma (Outreach teacher), Ven. Lozang Khadro (Receptionist), as well as a number of our Sangha members. But we have been fortunate to be joined by some wonderful new recruits: Dr. Eva Mueller (SPC), Robyn Norris (Reception), Anna Butler (Reception), Jennifer Thomas (Shop and Reception), Kym Bartlett (Grounds and Maintenance) and Joja Astridge (Housekeeper). Our Amazing Volunteers Our volunteers are the main reason the centre is able to continue to operate so successfully. We are very grateful to each and every person who has assisted Chenrezig Institute this year. To help stabilise the programme a decision was made by the management team to increase the length of the commitment required for people wanting to volunteer. This has also proven to be beneficial for managing the volunteer programme by reducing the frequency of new participants that need to be trained. Our day volunteer programme has also expanded considerably this year. These individuals have played a pivotal role in ensuring the success of many of the larger events and retreats. Their continued dedication is inspiring and very much appreciated! 9
6. Improving Our Services and Infrastructure The main focus for the operational management team this year has been on making the centre safer and more pleasant for all visitors. For this reason there has been a substantial investment in improving the quality of our infrastructure and services. A. Facilities and Services Gompa Upgrades The lighting in the Gompa has been substantially improved by installation of bright, energy-efficient globes and additional fittings. This has had a major impact on the atmosphere in the Gompa and has been very helpful for all the students. Thank you to everyone who donated money, and in particular to Dan Woodly who contributed by donating a large Buddha statue for a raffle to raise funds and Colin Crosbie who organised the raffle. The Gompa also received much needed brocades and custom throne dorjes which were purchased from Nepal. A set of stencils for drawing the eight auspicious symbols were created by Matt Drewett and Ray Furminger. These have been a huge help in the preparations for the visits of prominent teachers. Accommodation Improvements The aging linen in all our guest rooms was replaced with custom standardised linen. Not only has this improved the experience for guests, but has simplified the processes in housekeeping. Thanks to all our donors who contributed to the purchase! Updated Equipment in the Big Love Café The kitchen has benefitted from the purchase of a commercial heavy duty Robot Coupe food processor, and the donation of a commercial Robot Coupe vegetable preparation unit. This will hopefully halt the constant replacement of domestic equipment that has caused headaches for a number of years! The café has also undergone an equipment upgrade with the donation of a (much welcomed) new coffee machine. We also purchased a new large display fridge with the generous assistance of Laurie Gracie. 10
Homemade Cakes! A noticeable change in the café has been the discontinuation of frozen commercial cakes. These were expensive, unprofitable and not very tasty. Instead, Jennifer Thomas and occasional volunteers on the baking club have been churning out large numbers of incredibly delicious homemade cakes. Not only has this vastly improved the guests experience in the café, it has also generated a modest income for the centre. Many thanks to Jennifer and the baking team. Closing of Café on Mondays In October 2013 a decision was made to close the Big Love Café on Mondays outside of retreats. Guests staying overnight on Mondays are automatically allocated to self-catering accommodation. This has significantly reduced the pressure on the staff and volunteers that previously arose from having the café open 7 days per week, 364 days per year. B. Infrastructure New Road to Cafe In 2013 Lama Zopa Rinpoche gave Chenrezig Institute $40 000 for use on various projects. Some of this money was used to complete the concreting of the road up to the café. Not only does this allow better, safer access for deliveries to the café, but will no doubt save money in the long term as we will not need to carry out expensive repairs to the road each rainy season. We are very grateful to Lindsay Pratt and his team, Aaron Watkins, John Gray and Glen Heindley for the astonishing amount of work they put into getting the road completed quickly and affordably. Roads to the Garden of Enlightenment The centre also owes a huge debt of gratitude to the Vietnamese community and Ani Choepal for organising and sponsoring the concreting of the dangerous inclines between the car park and the Garden of Enlightenment. Thanks are also due to Garrey Foulkes and Peter O Brien who helped out with the (hot) work on the day. New Concrete Retreat Hut Paths The uneven and unlit retreat hut paths presented a significant risk to guests visiting the centre. The Executive Committee therefore allocated part of the profits from Khadro-la s retreat to upgrading the paths in the area. Aaron Watkins, Riccardo Ferrari and John Gray took on this daunting task under the supervision of Lindsay Pratt and Peter Shepherd. The paths have now all been completed making the area infinitely more attractive, welcoming and safe. Thanks to the guys for doing a fantastic job! 11
Disabled Access Path Disabled access to our facilities is an ongoing and increasing concern. As a first step to addressing this, the current concrete path to the motel block was widened to allow wheelchair access. The motel bathroom still needs to be fitted with a ramp, the toilet stalls widened and hand rails installed. It is hoped that this will occur as part of a planned refurbishment of the bathrooms. Water Quality A long-standing concern at the centre has been the quality of the water being pumped from the small dam. Following water quality testing earlier in the year, a decision was made to stop using the small dam as a holding dam. Instead a large water tank was installed near the small dam and used to collect water from the larger lower damn. This, combined with regular water treatment, has dramatically improved the quality and safety of the non-potable water supplies. A more sustainable long-term solution of our water management on the site still needs to be identified. C. Administrative Streamlining IT Hardware The centre purchased six new desktop computers to replace the aging and unreliable systems used by staff. This enabled the standardisation of all operating systems and software and has been very beneficial for office productivity. The centre also purchased a new laptop to replace the sadly deceased audio processing laptop in the Gompa. This massive overhaul of hardware was made possible by very generous donations by TY Alexander. Thank you! Google Apps for Business One of the most significant changes to operations was a move away from locally stored email and documents to cloud-based solutions. In October, Chenrezig Institute transferred all email, calendaring and document management to Google Apps. This has had several major advantages: All emails and documents are stored online, so no longer lost when hardware fails. Staff members also have remote access to emails and documents. It also allows improved document tracking, management and sharing. A dramatic reduction in the number of spam emails! Creation and sharing of calendars allowing easier programme planning and staff leave monitoring. Easier (and more secure) communication between various committees via Google Groups. This also automatically archives all communications so the centre does not lose critical information. Better integration with our website and online services. Overall this has been a very successful transition. It is now even more so since Google has kindly provided the entire suite of products (worth about $1000 - $2000 per year) to the centre completely free of charge! 12
Admin Software Additional improvements to mission-critical software included: MailChimp: We now use an automated online subscription tracking and management service called MailChimp. This has saved reception many hours per week of entering email addresses into a local address book, manually sending emails and constantly removing outdated addresses or failed emails. It also produces attractive and professional fortnightly enews bulletins and integrates with our webpage. Purchase of MYOB Retail manager. This has allowed a proper stock inventory to be created for the first time and has enabled better integration between the shop/ reception and accounting roles. Removal of unnecessary third-party services. Our WordPress-based webpage has the ability to carry out a number of services that were previously covered by external services. Removal of these has centralised our work on a single platform (WordPress) and resulted in several small savings. We are slowly trying to move away from our current event management software (WildApricot). This is expensive and very ineffective as a booking system. However, there are a number of technical hurdles that still need to be addressed before we can do so. Shop/ Reception With the increase in the number of visitors to CI, there was increasing pressure on the reception staff to manage the vast influx of emails and telephone queries while dealing with customers. To improve our customer service, the role of Receptionist was split into two with one person handling customer queries and purchases, and the other handling bookings and emails. This has had a big impact on the wellbeing of the staff and has allowed us to become more efficient in responding to enquiries. 7. Compliance Updates There has been a concerted effort to ensure that all the centre s operations are compliant with current regulations so as to ensure resilience in the future. Risk and OHS The Executive Committee made risk management one of the major priorities for this year. Many infrastructural changes have been made to reduce the risk of trips and falls. A training day was held for volunteers and additional first aid and mental first aid training courses have been planned. The centre also purchased new medical kits which have been placed at accessible locations around the site. A medical emergencies plan has been drawn up and will be implemented in the near future. GST An external accountant was engaged to advise in relation to the GST matter. However, FPMT and FPMTA have conveyed a preference for a particular advisor to be consulted. A brief will have to be provided for the new advisor. 13
School Building Fund and Perpetual Education Trust Fund Due to changes in the legislation surrounding school building funds, Chenrezig Institute is no longer an eligible entity. Consequently, we have sought advice about how the funds can be disbursed, whether the Perpetual Education Trust Fund (CIs DGR fund) can be a legal recipient of the funds, and how such funds could be used. Asset Revaluation To ensure that our balance sheet correctly reflects the current value of the buildings on site, an independent evaluation was sought. This addresses a long-standing request from our auditors to provide unbiased evidence to support our asset valuations. Staff Contracts and PDs We now have a new template for contracts that can be re-issued to all staff. The new template updates our contracts to be compliant with modern legal and FairWork Australia standards. The new contracts will be slowly rolled out in the coming months during reviews of Position Descriptions and performance. 8. Community Reports C. CI Arts, Garden of Enlightenment and Enlightenment Project (by Garrey Foulkes) Garden of Enlightenment The Garden of Enlightenment continues to attract a large number of weekly visitors. Sponsorship for stupas and prayer wheels continues to strengthen every year as the project is now completed. All of the maintenance and improvements continue to be done by volunteer labour. We now have no live-in caretaker so some simple tasks are difficult to get done on a daily basis. Many thanks to Colin and Glen for all of the work done on building the new Tsa Tsa house at the gardens. This was kindly sponsored by Mariangela Vecchi and is nearing completion. Preparations for Lama Zopa Rinpoche s visit have occupied a large part of the ongoing work in the later part of the financial year. 14
Art Studio The Art studio now has a very elaborate new veranda and newly completed (nearly) landscaping at the front of the building. The Art studio shop is almost ready to be opened and Matt continues to work on new moulds with which we can start producing garden ornaments etc. We have given Riccardo Ferrari a 13 week workblock to help push things along as this has been a very busy year and we were falling behind with keeping up with orders, particularly stupas. We have also had a gas-fired kiln offered to us which opens the door to another business outlet. Volunteers and those studying traditional painting with Ray continue to come on a regular basis. Not only is this a huge help for us but everybody seems to have a really enjoyable day. Ray s regular weekend art classes continue to appeal to new and regular students. Now that the major costs involved in funding the Garden of Enlightenment and the Art Studio are behind us we are now beginning to generate quite useful funds. Our aim is to continue to improve the facilities and our service to the public. B. Chenrezig Nuns Community (by Ven. Lozang Lhagsam) The majority of the Chenrezig Nuns Community has been studying the Masters Program for the last two years, and now the study component has been completed. The retreat commitment will be completed in individual retreats at appropriate times. We would like to offer our gratitude to Geshe Jamyang for his great kindness to the Nuns during his time at Chenrezig Institute, providing us with so many opportunities to study and practice. During this year we have looked at ways to improve access through the Nuns community area with better drainage and wider paths that will be safer in wet weather. A significant number of the Nuns contribute to leading meditation sessions and classes as part of the general program and also respond to personal requests from the public for guidance and support with spiritual practice. Some of the Nuns work with the local FPMT hospice services, Cittamani on the Sunshine Coast and Karuna in Brisbane. There are occasional requests to give presentations at multi-faith events and we take part whenever possible. C. Chenrezig Monks Community (Lozang Dragpa Monastery) The monastery said farewell to Lozang Yeshe and Lozang Jhampa. Yeshe has relocated to Thubten Shedrub Ling Monastery in Bendigo and Jhampa will be studying Tibetan in India. However, it is expected that one or two monks will return to the monastery at the start of the Basic Studies Programme. 15
9. Financial Adjustments and Performance The focus of changes to the financial operations of the institute has been to build a steady and sustainable income stream by decreasing the reliance on the spiritual programme and promoting other revenue streams, decreasing expenditure and increasing/ standardising profit margins. The aim was to increase surplus to allow investment in infrastructural and service upgrades. A. Building Sustainable Financial Operations Pricing Changes (Café and Accommodation) In November and December 2013 the management team reviewed the pricing of meals in the café and the pricing of accommodation on the property. These were all increased to bring them in line with modern pricing and reduce the losses that had been accruing in these areas. This was the first price change in many years and it has contributed to an overall healthier monthly performance. Streamlining Expenditure To reduce unnecessary expenses, the team has been slowly consolidating diverse services into single, more affordable options. This has involved numerous changes to our food suppliers and service providers. Another significant adjustment was a change in the system used to calculate offerings for non-staff teachers. The new equation rewards teachers more equitably based on teaching hours and course participants. This has eliminated some of the excesses and unfairness of the previous model. Till and Income Tracking One of the major concerns in the finances is the appropriate tracking and tagging of revenue. Without this it has been difficult to assess the profitability of some of our services. As a result, money has been set aside for the purchase of a modern café till which integrates with our accounting software. B. Performance Despite large-scale investment in the infrastructure and a very poor start to the year, CI Inc. finished the financial year with a modest surplus. The poor performance in Quarter 1 was largely due to payout of accrued leave and to persistent losses in the café and accommodation. The increase in surplus from Quarter 2 onwards is likely a cumulative effect of the changes in accommodation and food pricing. Looking at the performance for the centre only (ie: omitting CNC, LDM, GOE and EPPM figures) indicates that Quarter 3 proved to be most profitable. This was due largely to the increase in visitors during Khadro-la s 16
retreat, the Relic Tour and the visit of Ven. Thubten Chodron. The surplus for the quarter was approximately $27 000. Major expenditure by the centre on road concreting reflects in the decreased profit in Quarter 4. The accommodation and shop were the most profitable enterprises over the year, whereas the café continues to make only a minor profit of approximately $900 a month on average. This does not take into account the running of the volunteer programme - the bulk of which is utilised by the café. This suggests that a major review of the operations of the café is required in order to improve its viability. The programme continued to make a loss since it supports most of the teacher and staff salaries. Nevertheless, it is encouraging to note that this deficit decreased substantially over the course of the year due to the change in the offering system and increased course participation. Overall there are encouraging signs that the adjustments mentioned in this report have yielded a modest return to profitability in most areas of the centre s activities. Ideally, however, effort should be expended in future to reduce the volatility of the income streams by reducing the dependence of all departments on the levels of participation in the programme. Assets and Balance Sheet To ensure that the balance sheet accurately reflected the centre s assets, a review of the plant and equipment valuations was conducted. Approximately $200 000 in P&E was deprecated. Likewise, revaluation of the current value of the buildings shed approximately $800 000 from the balance sheet. The consequence is an approx. $1 million adjustment in contributed equity. C. Donations and Bequests Donations and Bequests to CI The kindness of our guests and students has once again been extraordinary. Thank you to everyone who donated money to the centre for various projects. Without your assistance, few of the projects mentioned in this report would have been possible and the year would have been considerably more challenging. CI received substantial donations towards IT hardware, the new website, Gompa lighting, kitchen equipment, the new Tsa-Tsa house, DVDs in the library and farewell offerings to Geshe Jamyang, among others. CI was also the recipient of a large bequest from the estate of Libby Muller, who passed away earlier this year. Libby had a long association with Chenrezig Institute and bequeathed the money to support CI s education aims. Among other things, the money provides for two annual scholarships for registered school teachers to study the Dharma so that they can teach Dharma in local schools. Although the sum will not reflect in the figures until the next financial year, three exceptionally kind visitors to the centre have pledged over $100 000 towards sanitation upgrades. Moreover, Lama Zopa Rinpoche has donated a further $100 000 to the centre for the project. (This money was offered to Rinpoche by a very generous benefactor who attended the Bendigo retreat). These two donations will enable us to install new sewage systems across the site, making the car park a much more pleasant introduction to CI! 17
10. The Year Ahead The 2014/ 2015 financial year is well underway. Highlights so far include the arrival of our new Geshe, Geshe Phuntsok Tsultrim and the visit of our precious Spiritual Director, Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche. 2015 will see the start of new rounds of Discovering Buddhism and the five-year Basic Studies Programme (BSP). It will also see the completion of major infrastructural works and long-awaited updates to the motel block accommodation. The major challenge will lie in the necessary restructuring of the operations of Chenrezig Institute to improve the sustainability and viability of the enterprise. This should include a review of the staff portfolios, streamlining of the volunteer programme, adjustments to the functioning of the café and perhaps development of alternative income streams. In doing so it is hoped that CI will continue to flourish and bring benefit to innumerable sentient beings. 18