Noteworthy Decisions from the July 2010 Board Meeting

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By Marilynn Kulieke, Secretary, Urantia Foundation, Illinois, USA

Book Pricing for Library Placement and Outreach Initiatives

The Board voted in favour of pricing books for library placement and outreach initiatives according to the following formula: cost of the book times 1.3 plus shipping. Books, however, will not be sold for less than $10 each. All orders must be prepaid, and buyers must agree not to resell the books to bookstores or on the internet. By using this formula, the Foundation will have enough money for the next print run, yet the price will be low enough to encourage readers to buy books for library placement and outreach initiatives. Outreach initiatives apply to book placement with readers or study groups, in, for example, outback Brazil, where the book is not yet available through the normal channels of book distribution. For more information, please contact Urantia Foundation at [email protected].

Google Ad Words

The Board voted in favor of testing Google ad words as a means to attract younger people to The Urantia Book and to the Foundations website. Google ad words are those small links that appear on the right side of your computer screen when you Google something. For example, in this experiment you might Google the word God and have our sponsored link appear. If you click the link, it would take you to Paper 1. A small test will run in 2010, and, if successful, the test and budget may expand in 2011.

Translation Revisions

The Board voted in favor of accepting the recommendations of the Translation Committee:

1. Revisions and corrections of the Russian translation will commence immediately and will be completed before 2013.
2. The preliminary plan (people, budgets, and schedule) for revising the Latin-American edition of the Spanish translation will be presented at the October 2010 Trustees meeting.
3. The Board encouraged the Manager of Translations to continue creating a policy for the translation and revision process. This process will provide quality control checks and balances during the long course of a translation and revision.
4. New translation software is in full development and should be completed by the end of 2010. Among its many capabilities, this software allows translations and revisions to be compared to the current version, the original English edition, and other translations. All changes will be saved for tracking purposes and later comparisons. It also provides consistency, quality control, ease of revision, and many more features.

Urantia Book Internet School (UBIS)

The Board appointed Georges Michelson-Dupont to be the next Executive Director of UBIS. Georges will assume this responsibility starting in October, 2010. Members of the Expanded Board expressed their strong desire to see UBIS and other educational efforts flourish during the coming decades.

Future Meeting Dates:

• October 15-16, 2010 (Chicago, Illinois)
• January 14-15, 2010 (Dallas, Texas)
• April 15-16, 2011 (Chicago, Illinois)
• July 2011 (Chicago, Illinois)
• October 2011 (Paris, France)
• January 13-14, 2012 (Chicago, Illinois)
• April 13-14, 2012 (Chicago, Illinois)

Trustees: Gard Jameson, Richard Keeler, Marilynn Kulieke, Georges Michelson-Dupont, Henk Mylanus, Mo Siegel, and Judy Van Cleave.

Associate Trustees: Jan Bernard, Marta Elders, Merritt Horn, Irmeli Ivalo-Sjølie, Olga López, Claire Mylanus, and Ralph Zehr

Executive Director: Jay Peregrine

Staff: Connie Gutierrez, Tamara Strumfeld, Marcel Urayeneza, and Mike Wood.