OUR PHILOSOPHY ON GIVING

Set Positive Ripple Effects In Motion

The desire to “give” ~ to sincerely contribute in ways that make a positive difference in the lives and well-being of others ~ is an innate and human instinct. And, It is one of our most admirable and inspiring qualities as a species.  As people of consciousness, we know that how we “think” creates and so how we “give” is important, because it sets things in motion… sometimes for many generations to come. By giving consciously (from one’s Authentic or Higher Self ~ that indwelling well-spring of insight, wisdom, loving-kindness & prosperity)  and by investing in conscious service, leadership, and community development, we have an opportunity to set powerful positive ripple effects in motion that benefit humanity & the planet well beyond the initial intentions or “plan”.

Bridge The Gap

Conscious Giving and Right Relationship 

While “giving” is a natural instinct, where we “give from” and who is showing up to give matters. Despite our best intentions to give and make a positive difference in the world, if we are giving (or “showing up’) from our Conditioned or Survival Self, we (our conditioned, fear-based, limiting belief-based ego, really) is likely to “Mis-Give”.  “Mis-Giving” a term and concept developed by our Founder and philanthropist, Diana H. Dokos, describes an unfortunate phenomena that happens when people ~ despite their best intentions ~ “Mis-Give” in ways that inadvertently set disconnect, struggle, drama, conflict, resentment, loss or more in motion. “Mis-Giving” includes (but is not limited to): guilt giving, chronic giving, ATM (all about the money) giving, strategic giving, over-giving, projection giving, ethnocentric giving, obligation giving, rescue giving, “rush-the-bridge” giving, adrenaline giving, and more… What’s your favorite flavor?

(To learn more about “Mis-Givings” and “Conscious Giving” go to Donor Learning Circles (link).)

Give Consciously and Creatively. Model what Conscious & Transformational Giving can look like.

Because conscious service, leadership, and community development are still an emerging field and because consciousness-based organizations (like ours) are still finding their way and creating new models of Possibility in this wild new world, we encourage our donors to pioneer with us.

We invite you to invest in and support the pioneers ~ the people, opportunities, programs and organizations ~ that make conscious alternatives and opportunities possible.  It takes insight, wisdom, courage, tenacity, brilliance, innovation and belief to pioneer and create in these Changing Times and these highly effective & aligned new ways.

Increase Consciousness & Capacity … not Charity

Inspiring, teaching, and empowering people to be Conscious Creators is at the root of our work. As a result, the people, organizations, and communities we serve become more confident, capable &  powerful manifestors of their own realities, resources, and opportunities. This form of capacity-building (for both the community members and donors alike) takes them out of the “charitable cause” model ~ a model which tends to be “problem/solution” oriented, sees beneficiaries as “victims in need”, donors as “heroes/rescuers/solution finders”, and resources as “scarce/limited”. By working outside of that model ~ by working in Conscious Engagement & Right Relation ~ participants (and donors) learn how step beyond social conditioning and generational imprints, see Opportunities where others see “problems”, tap into hidden gifts, talents and resources, meet the needs of self /others/situations in highly creative and empowering ways, courageously actualize the greater possibilities of their lives,  create new realities, manifest aligned resources, more powerfully navigate change, and create more thriving lives, livelihoods and communities in the process. 

Reduce Donor Dependency and The Wealth Gap

As a Foundation, we do our best to walk this talk. By and large,  each member of our Team is an entrepreneur or conscious creative who has an independent means of income in their own right. In addition, we create a sense of abundance and prosperity in our lives and the lives of those we serve well beyond financial means alone. To do this, we engage in a holistic economy of conscious giving ~ gift, share, trade, exchange, fee for services, and tiered or sliding scale. This helps us to reduce the wealth gap by offering our services, programs, workshops, and retreats to those both with AND without financial means. Everyone contributes meaningfully, they just do it in a wide variety of ways. Because of this, we are able to keep needs for donor contributions to a minimum ~ usually in the form of “Bridge Funding” (to bridge the gap between what participants can give/pay and the actual costs), Seed Funding (to help us start and launch  programs and initiatives), scholarships (to increase community access to our offerings), sponsorships (to underwrite some of the costs with our intern/mentees/staff in training), and reduce overhead costs (so we can pass those savings ~ and generosity ~ on to the program participants, clients, and guests we serve).

Teach A Man to Fish… Teach A Woman to Fly!

While the adage of “teach a man to fish” is both wise and empowering, it does not necessarily teach a woman to fly. Not everyone is built to fish, built to do things the way society (aka “the Matrix”) trains or expects them to do. Some people are just not built to live inside “The Box”. Some people ~ especially women, Millenials, right-brainers, conscious creatives, and spiritual entrepreneurs ~ are built to do things… well… a bit differently. They are built uniquely to pioneer, to discover, to do things “outside the box”, to connect to their intuition and their Higher Power to create and innovate successful new approaches that demonstrate the possibility of a new,  more uplifting, inspiring, healthy, and life-affirming “reality” than may have existed or been offered to humanity before. In this time of Great Change, nourishing the dreams and resourcing the efforts of these pioneers and innovators is a great investment  in creating the kinds of conscious change and creative opportunities you wish to see in the world.