© 2022 John Lange
© 2022 Chuck Thurston (photos)
© 2022 The Urantia Book Fellowship
by John Lange
As we approach the seventy year mark since the publication of The Urantia Book, there is the realization that the Urantia Revelation has not taken the planet by storm. In the same way Michael brings Nebadon into light and life by winning over one planet at a time, the Urantia Revelation will have an enduring impact on world affairs when a critical mass of believers is achieved by winning over one soul at a time. And so our romance with The Urantia Book enters the stream of planetary spiritual evolution.
Our successful pursuit of this long game of stewardship and devotion will be characterized by a culture of giving. There is even now an increased need for resources as we continue to expand globally, have an increased media and social presence, and foster greater personal connections through reader services, and new innovative projects.
As the social arm of the Urantia Revelation, we are devoted to spreading The Urantia Book and its teachings to a spiritually hungry world. At the present time, we have a donor base of only three hundred souls, yet more than four times as many members, and thousands of newsletter subscribers. But as many of our large donors have graduated, we are drawing down on our savings to make ends meet.
To meet this challenge, we have reviewed the most successful fundraising activities in the nonprofit sector. We can engage and expand our donor base and yet retain and enhance our current donors. We find that a more robust organization results when giving is broadly based, and not concentrated among a few large donors
Our goal should be for our donations and bequests to adequately fund our yearly expenses. In other words our sense of responsibility should match our dreams and desires to further the revelation. These investments are for our future growth.
There are many options on our donations page https://urantiabook.org/donations. Our legacy program is in place, as some of our more senior members desire to plan for our future growth.
https://urantiabook.plannedgiving.org/
To encourage further engagement and retention of our contributing members, we are proposing a plan for donor-centered fundraising. This will be encouraged by a cycle of involvement, which includes:
- Inquiry—We survey the membership for projects desired.
- Planning—We match the survey with current or new projects.
- Execution—We monitor project development and progress.
- Feedback—We make an impact statement on accomplishments.
Future annual reports will feature: the Fellowship’s Inmate Correspondence Program, with books placed in facilities throughout the United States; the Pipeline of Light, with books placed in most nations of the world; and the Second Miler Grant Program, with over thirty grants already approved.
https://urantiabook.org/Second-Miler-Fund
Sustaining all these efforts involves developing a culture of giving:
- Made easy with the development of giving plans.
- Made personal by the value of donor appreciation.
- Made inviting by the knowledge of impact at various contributing levels.
- Made inspiring as we share through social media and conferences these “Mission Moments,” which are personal stories of planting the seeds of The Urantia Book for the wider world.
- Made fulfilling as a spiritual discipline. To contribute from one’s earnings gives balance to the spiritual life. We all know that selfless service is its own reward.
Finally, this is a time of excitement as the torch is being passed to a new generation of readers.
We would like to thank all those members who have contributed over the years that have insured The Urantia Book Fellowship a firm grip on life.
During his sojourn on Urantia, Michael discussed thirty-five parables and fully onethird dealt with man’s proper relationship with money. And so the great adventure is a paradox in that we wrest from our material life the means to deliver Urantia Book teachings to the world — something more important than money and something money can’t buy.
If you are interested in exploring these donation concepts please contact john.lange@urantiabook.org or larry.geis@urantiabook.org or any Finance Committee member you know well.
Finance Committee: John Lange, Chair; Larry Geis, Secretary; Dale Sztejnberg; Barry Clark; Karen Allen; and Richard Daunt.
We would like to thank all those members who have contributed over the years that have insured The Urantia Book Fellowship a firm grip on life.
We live in God and God dwells in us. UB 131:10.4