Annual Report for 2008

Vermont Insight Meditation Center
Compiled by: Jack Millett, President Board of Directors
                    Cheryl Wilfong, Treasurer
                    Claire Stanley, Guiding Teacher         

Practicing in Community, Teaching and Learning the Dharma, Living a Life of Compassion and Wisdom

In 2008, Vermont Insight continued to strengthen and grow the roots of teaching and learning the Dharma in the midst of community, in the midst of our daily lives.  A consistent group of students attended Sunday sittings, Tuesday and Thursday morning meditations, evening courses, and daylong meditation retreats.  This consistent group established a base of approximately 40 core sangha members.  By end of year 2008, our email listserv numbers were over 200, indicating interest and connection with VIMC from a wide range of people who live in the Southern VT, MA and NH area.

Sunday group sittings were attended by an average of 20 people with some Sundays reaching over 30, depending on weather conditions and season.  There seemed to be a noticeable drop around the time of the stock market decline and the elections.  However, attendance picked up post election. 

Two new offerings this year were the Thanksgiving sitting from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm and the New Year’s Eve sitting from 7:00 pm to midnight.  A small number attended these first time offerings. Cheryl, Drew and Rose led these sittings with meditations, discussions, mindful movement, and walking meditations.  In 2009, the Thanksgiving and New Year’s sessions will be an established alternative way to celebrate these holidays.

Morning sittings on Tuesdays and Thursdays continued with a steady 2-6 people attending.  Evening courses maintained a steady group of around 15 for the Monday night group and 8 for the Thursday night group.  Cheryl offered an additional Tuesday evening course in the spring on Lovingkindness with 7 participants.  In the fall, she offered Aging Gracefully, a morning course, with 5 participants.  And in Nov – Dec, Cheryl offered a Mindfulness and Depression course on Tuesday evenings for 14 participants.  The Introduction to Meditation courses offered by Jack in the Spring and the Winter had 6 students in each class.

For the first time, Vermont Insight offered a meditation retreat or special dharma presentation every month of the year except for December.  The teachers of these retreats were: Taraniya Ambrosia, Jack Millett, Claire Stanley, Chas DiCapua, Winnie Nazarko, Cheryl Wilfong, James Baraz, Leigh Brasington, Doreen Schweizer, Mu Soeng, and Kate Wylie.  Attendance at the daylong retreats reached 216, up from 135 in 2007.  James Baraz and Mu Soeng attracted groups of 40-45.  Leigh Brasington offered a special evening with sutta story telling.  Having Taraniya, James Baraz and Leigh Brasington teach at our center was significant for Vermont Insight as these teachers are well-known in the national and international Dharma community. 

Another significant development for Vermont Insight came in the summer Tuesday night sitting groups.  Cheryl Wilfong and Mary Mathias supported and maintained the ongoing sitting and discussion groups throughout July and August with attendance ranging from 8 to 15 participants.  Cheryl sent out the readings for each week electronically which many who could not attend the sessions found very helpful.

Pot Lucks
The April Pot Luck was held at Cheryl Wilfong’s house Dummerston in celebration of her graduation from her community dharma leader teacher training course.  This lovely spring Pot Luck was well attended by approximately 15 people.  Good food and conversation was enjoyed in beautiful garden surroundings.

The Fall Pot Luck was held at Rose O’Connor’s new condo in Brattleboro.  Again around 15 people attended and spent an evening indoors sharing food and conversation in Rose’s warm and cozy space.

All in all, we can easily say that practicing in community, teaching and learning of the dharma, and the ongoing development of the Sangha continued and increased in 2008 at Vermont Insight Meditation Center.

Practicing Locally, Connecting Globally
Vermont Insight joins the Brattleboro Interfaith Clergy Group
In September, Jack Millett agreed to represent Vermont Insight at the Brattleboro Interfaith Clergy group (BIC).  This group had been meeting for several years and had expressed interest in having Buddhist groups represented.  Through his participation in this group, Jack has spearheaded involvement of the Vermont Insight Sangha in the feeding and support of local homeless people reported below.  BIC has been quite involved in discussions of race in the community and in support for harmonious community relations in all of the Brattleboro area.  Jack and Claire attended several of the meetings that took place over the summer of 2008 about racial incidents at the High School and wise community action in response to these events.

Support for Local Drop-In Center and Overflow Shelter
Vermont Insight joined members of other religious and spiritual organizations in collecting both food and money to support the local Drop-In Center that houses and feeds local members of the community who find themselves in need.  VIMC has donated $120 to date and has delivered two boxes of canned food and a blanket to the Drop In Center.  Additionally, Sangha members have begun to volunteer to be trained and then to volunteer to work at the shelter this winter.  Other Sangha members are offering one meal, sometimes two, a month to support the Overflow Shelter.

Support for Burma
In March, Vermont Insight was able to raise funds to support the building of new houses for families who lost their homes in the devastating Hurricaine that hit Burma in the early part of 2008.  VIMC donated $800.  This effort was made possible through our connection with Myoshin Kelley a Dharma Teacher at IMS and the Venerable AriaNyani and ViraNyani, ordained nuns who had visited and taught at VIMC in 2007 and who were able to directly distribute our donation (multiplied many times by sanghas all over the world) directly to people in need in Burma.  Another request for aid to Burma came in December through Carol Wilson from IMS and VIMC contributed $250 toward a health clinic there.

Sustainability of Vermont Insight Administrative Structure
At the beginning of 2008, Jack and Claire began to feel the strain of performing all of the many invisible administrative tasks associated with the smooth running of the Center.  Primary areas of strain were the publicity of events, the registration for retreats, the ongoing phone, email and other correspondence related to the center, liaison with Elaine Johnson around the rental space, website development, marketing and publicity for VIMC.

As of August 2008, the Board supported the development of two committees to provide administrative support to Jack and Claire.  The Publicity Committee and the Administrative Support Committee were successfully established.  This was a much-needed shift for the health and sustainability of the organization and for the freeing up of Jack and Claire’s energy in order to focus on other teaching that will provide for them to meet expenses and sustain their livelihood. Kevin O’Connor, Sue Dennison, and Fiona Cook volunteered for the Publicity Committee and Rose O’Connor and Suzann Jones for the Administrative Support Committee.  Both committees are running smoothly with regular oversight from Jack (publicity) and Claire (administration).  The goal is to have these committees running on their own in 2009.

The Board of Directors continues to explore ways to expand the capacity and sustainability of Vermont Insight.  In establishing this organization, our vision included a permanent center that would be sustainable for a hundred years or more.  Further discussion of this goal will continue in 2009.  In order to fulfill this vision, the Board and Sangha members need to become increasingly involved in the long-term care, development, administration, and sustainability of the Center.

New Board Members
The original five Board members agreed to ongoing terms and voted to increase their numbers by two new members.  Two possible new Board members attended the first part of the Annual Meeting on September 18th.  Another possible Board member attended the meeting in October.  Vermont Insight is very pleased to welcome Mary Mathias as a new Board member in 2008.  We continue to seek another new Board member.

Annual Appeal
Letters for the Vermont Insight (first ever) Annual Appeal went out to the community in October.  Results of the Appeal will be reported at the Annual Meeting, but it appeared to be a success, the returns already matched last year’s Cushion Fund Appeal.

New Website and Email System
Sean Conley, friend of Vermont Insight and benefactor, helped us move our website to a less expensive hosting organization.  He also updated the site so that it is easier to be maintained and reviewed.  Finally, he established a new email system for Vermont Insight through Google that has been running successfully since September.

Telephone, Mailbox, and Website Accounts
Vermont Insight assumed the expenses for the phone, mailbox and website accounts.  These expenses had been assumed by Jack and Claire in previous years.  This small but significant shift symbolized the movement from an organization dependent on two of the co-founders to an organization standing on its own.

Recognition of the Invaluable Ongoing Support from Elaine Johnson
We continue to be fortunate enough to have Elaine Johnson, the owner of Solar Hill, as a major supporter for Vermont Insight through her renting of the space to us for our activities.  Also, Elaine had a full cabinet built to house the cushions and our other materials after the fundraiser.  She allows us to use the grounds and the mansion for tea and walking meditation during retreats, and it is wonderful to have the woods available to us as part of the center.   The hourly rental fee for usage of Solar Hill Neighbors’ Hall space makes it feasible for us to afford a home for our Center.  Elaine also supported the expanded morning meditations in Neighbors’ Hall, moving that activity from the Pine Room.  We also appreciate the cooperation of Neighborhood School house in sharing this space so that we can accommodate our activities and theirs in the space.

Based on input from Steve Krane, long-term Sangha member, the Board wrote up a card of appreciation to give to Elaine, signed by as many Sangha members as possible and presented it to her in September.

Financial Report FY08
 
INCOME       
Annual Appeal                                    1480   
Dana from Sitting Groups                    2741   
Donations                                          1095   
Course Registrations                           4756   
Day-long Retreats Registrations           3232   
Interest Income                                    159   
                                                       13463
       
EXPENSES       
Administrative Stipend                        7000   
Retreat Support for Guiding Teacher     1000   
Professional Fees                                 160   
Office Expense                                   1820   
Rent                                                   4378   
Mileage for Visiting Teachers                 354   
Other Expense                                     100   
                                                        14812
       
Net Loss                                           -1349

Respectfully Submitted to the Board of Directors and to the Sangha


Annual Report for 2007                       

Vermont Insight Meditation Center
First Board of Directors’ Annual Report
FY 2007 (with retrospective since 2005)
Compiled by: Jack Millett, President Board of Directors
                    Cheryl Wilfong, Treasurer
                    Claire Stanley, Guiding Teacher

This first Annual Report of Vermont Insight Meditation Center covers all of the activities of our organization from its inception up to September 18, 2008, the date of our first Annual Meeting.  The financial report attached to this annual report covers January to December 2007.

Development of Vermont Insight
Overview
Offering instruction in Insight Meditation (Vipassana) and the study of Buddhist teachings in the Theravada tradition is the core of our mission at Vermont Insight Meditation Center.  Since our opening in 2005, we have fulfilled this mission and brought the teachings into the midst of Sangha members’ daily lives through our activities.  Equally important, the Board of Directors is pleased to report that our Center is now a well-established organization in the community, known to many, respected by those who do know us, and now with ongoing relationships with other religious and spiritual groups, as well as therapeutic groups in the Brattleboro community.  Many people come to us through referrals from our friends in these other groups, as well as through our website, distribution of flyers and brochures, and newspaper coverage.

Brief History of the Development of VIMC
Vermont Insight Meditation Center opened its doors in September, 2005.  We began by offering an open meditation sitting on Thursday mornings led by Drew Kovach and Tuesday evenings led by Cheryl and Claire, the regular Sunday sitting on the first and third Sundays, and two evening courses.  At that time, three to five people attended morning or evening meditations, 10 – 15 people attended Sunday sittings, and 23 people attended courses. Our original email list to the Sangha contained 42 names.  The Tuesday evening sitting was discontinued after 2 months of low attendance.  In 2007, we began to offer a Tuesday morning sitting led by Rose O’Connor as well as the Thursday morning sit with Drew.

We have grown steadily since 2005.  There are now 179 people on our email list, course registrations are averaging 35 people per term, morning meditation sessions average six people, and Sunday gatherings draw between 15 and 30 people. When these retreats are taught by local teachers, we average 15 people and when senior dharma teachers come from IMS, we average 45 people.

Meditation Practice and Teaching at VIMC
Consistent with our mission, Vermont Insight has been offering teachings from the Theravada Buddhist tradition through Sunday sittings, ongoing early morning meditations twice a week, weekly courses for three terms a year, ongoing evening sittings and discussions in the summer, and monthly daylong retreats.  We have invited lay and monastic teachers from the area and from Insight Meditation Society with great success.

Teachings offered at all of these events have spanned the breadth and depth of the Buddha’s teachings.  Sunday sittings and discussions have looked at The Five Spiritual Faculties, Not-Self, Kindness and Forgiveness, Compassion, Equanimity, and Happiness to name a few.  Ongoing courses have examined in depth the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and the Four Foundations of Mindfulness as well as the Paramis, Death Contemplation, and comprehensive Introduction to Meditation courses.  Summer evening meditations and conversations have taken up topics such as Concentration, Happiness, Calm Abiding, Peace, and Not-Self.  Finally, our daylong meditation retreats have focuses on essential aspects of the teachings on Mindfulness, the Seven Factors of Awakening, Intention, Concentration, and applications of mindfulness in areas such as Gardening.

In 2007, the Board of Directors agreed to sponsor a half-day meditation retreat for its members and for those who are practice leaders for the Tuesday and Thursday morning sittings.  In this way, the group of directors who guide the activity of VIMC, along with those who teach regularly at VIMC have joined in deepening their meditation practice in the context of our group.

Retreat Assistance Fund
An anonymous donor established a Retreat Assistance Fund (RAF) in fall of 2007 at the time when we submitted our final 501c3 documents to the IRS.  When the IRS approval of our status was conveyed to us, we were thereby able to establish the fund and begin its activity.  In 2007, two people attended retreats at IMS as a result of this fund.

It has become apparent that those who attend retreats at IMS return to VIMC with a deeper connection to the meditation practice as well as a stronger commitment to their connection with VIMC.  Many volunteer to work on committees after attending retreats.  Additionally, teachers from VIMC, when visiting IMS, have been quite pleased to see Sangha members in the meditation hall!

Other Significant Activities at Vermont Insight since 2005
Sangha Pot Luck Suppers
Vermont Insight has sponsored Pot Luck suppers for the Sangha since January 2006.  These Pot Lucks allow us to meet informally, share food and good conversations, and build our sense of community in ordinary ways.  The Board is committed to continuing the Sangha Pot Lucks for the future.

Fund Raiser for New Cushions
Vermont Insight launched its first successful fund raiser in 2007 where we raised a little under $1,350 which allowed us to purchase 15 sets of zabutons, zafus, and support cushions for our Center.  Special thanks to Cheryl Wilfong and Rose O’Connor for organizing the fundraiser, to Drew Kovach for researching the various companies that make meditation cushions, and to Drew and Paul Rodrigue who drove up to Barnet, Vermont to pick up and deliver the cushions for our first of the year Sunday sitting in January 2008.

Sustainability of Vermont Insight Meditation Center
Development of Committees
From 2005 to midyear of 2006, Jack Millett and Claire Stanley performed almost all of the administrative tasks associated with the establishment and development of VIMC.  In the early days of VIMC, several committees were formed.  First, the Board established the Finance Committee and the Program Planning Committee.  On the Finance Committee, Cheryl Wilfong and Rose O’Connor took on the financial viability of the organization, as well as a commitment to any fundraising.  The main teachers at VIMC, Jack Millett, Cheryl Wilfong and Claire Stanley comprise the Program Planning Committee, establishing the program for the year with teachers invited from the area and from IMS for daylongs, with the coverage of the Sunday sitting meditations by them or other teachers, and with the establishment of courses throughout the three terms of the year.  These committees complemented the activity of Jack and Claire in the organization and development of the Center.

In mid year 2006, we established a Sunday and Daylong Support Committee headed by Anne Fines in order to set up the meditation hall and whatever other necessary items for the smooth functioning of our regular Sunday sitting meditation and of the daylong retreats.  These three committees focused on most of the externalized tasks of the Center and provided much needed support.

Statistical Overview of Vermont Insight Activity for FY07
15 people took our introductory course, Insight Meditation
7 classes were offered to 55 students
7 daylong retreats had a total attendance of 135.
    Teachers included Amita Schmidt, Chas DiCapua, Mu Soeng, Kate Wylie, Jack & Claire, Cheryl
    50 people attended the daylong retreat led by Michelle McDonald in September
1 special event: James Baraz gave an evening talk
Tuesday morning and Thursday morning meditation sittings attended by 2-6 people
Summer Tuesday evening sits had an average attendance of 10
3 Potlucks
Anne Fines chairs the Set-Up committee of 5 volunteers
Sunday Dharma talks—attendance increased from 12 at the beginning of the year to 24 in December.
Retreat Assistance Fund offers scholarships for VIMC members to go on retreat
1 person applied and was given a $210 scholarship to Insight Meditation Society.
Bought a bell and 20 folding chairs.
Raised $1,350 toward new cushions (bought in January 2008)

Financial Report FY07

INCOME
Dana from sitting groups               $2,465
Donations                                       $150
Total                                            $2,615

Course Registrations                    $3,225
Day-long Retreat Registrations      $2,020
Total                                           $5,245
Interest Earned                                  $8

TOTAL INCOME                          $7,868

EXPENSES
Speaker Stipend                               $50
Support for Guiding Teacher          $1,000
Office Supplies and Telephone         $770
Rent for Neighbors’ Hall                 $3,242
Miscellaneous                                 $129
501c3 expenses                              $935
Folding chairs and bell                     $333

TOTAL EXPENSES                      $6,459

NET INCOME                               $1,409 

The total amount of the net income was placed in a VIMC reserve fund for the accomplishment of a future vision of a home for VIMC.

Respectfully Submitted to the Board of Directors and to the Sangha

Jack Millett, President         Cheryl Wilfong, Treasurer        Claire Stanley, Guiding Teacher