Join other AZC sangha members in this dynamic workshop series on Fundraising, offered by Thomas Bruner through the Houston Zen Center. Many of us practicing Buddhism have a complicated and even fraught relationship to money, and certainly have difficulty asking for money to support beloved organizations like the Austin Zen Center. But even our Japanese founder, Shunryu Suzuki cautioned us for taking this viewpoint:

“So money is—money purifies our, you know, world.  It is not something dirty.  It is very pure.  It is very important thing for us, when we take good care of it, when we respect it.  Because you don’t respect—you don’t pay enough respect to the money, money become dirty.  Dirty.  Doesn’t matter how much money you have, you know.  Even [if] the money is sm- [partial word]—amount of money you have [is] little, you should pay respect to it, and you should make best use of it.  How you make best use of it is to make it, you know, work—to make it help our society.”

– Shunryū Suzuki-rōshi on Money & Labor, May 24, 1970

Thankfully, Thomas Bruner, of Bruner Strategies, leads an engaging, interactive and practical series of 3 meetings (September 1, 8, and 15) for lay and ordained Buddhists who are newer to fundraising.

Thomas has been of enormous help at Houston Zen Center, guiding the Center with his wisdom and wonderful humor. He is a senior lay disciple at Dharma Rain Zen Center in Portland, Oregon, where he has been a member since 2003.

In this series of 3 meetings (September 1, 8 and 15) you will:

• learn from a successful fundraiser and Buddhist practitioner

• examine our views about money and fundraising

• explore fundraising as an extension of our Dana practice

• learn the basics of simple fundraising campaigns

• practice inviting others to give in a respectful way