President's Report

   

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By Mo Siegel, President, Urantia Foundation, Colorado, USA

Dear friends of Urantia Foundation and the Urantia Revelation,

Just as people look back, thinking what it would have been like to serve with Jesus, the Fourth Epochal Revelation, analogous times are here today. With the publication of The Urantia Book only fifty-five years ago, we are all blessed to have the opportunity to serve in the early days of the Fifth Epochal Revelation.

The following report provides a review of Urantia Foundations goals for 2010 and our progress towards their achievement.

Thank you, supporters of Urantia Foundation, for your prayers, your goodwill, and your contributionsfinancial and otherwise.

May we become saturated with the fragrant truths of the Urantia Revelation.

Goals Review-Third Quarter 2010

1. Sales and Distribution Goals: Increase book sales and distribution by seven percent especially in North America, Central and South America and Europe. Books include e-books, audio books, and web downloads.

Commentary:

a Hard-copy book sales are slightly above 2009 levels.

b. Tracking digital downloads has just begun. Internet downloads probably exceed hard-copy book sales. This changing reality has caused a major shift in our thinking and approach to the work at hand.

c. The audio version of The Urantia Book is now available for purchase through www.audible.com, the internets largest audio book provider. Please visit their website, download the audio book, and write a positive review.

d. Book distribution in Europe is increasing as contracts were signed with distributors in Sweden, Hungary, Estonia, and Poland. Congratulations to the translators, text formatters, and all other people involved in making this significant advancement of truth possible!

2. Website Goals: Advance the Foundations website by translating the English portion into Spanish, Finnish, French, Polish, and Portuguese.

Commentary: The 2010 website goal will be exceeded. By year end, the website will be partially translated into thirteen languages with seven being almost complete. Fourteen translations of The Urantia Book will also be on display.

3. Safeguard the Text Goals: Create seven standardized and downloadable translations that comply with the standard referencing system. Place these html files on www.urantia.org so Urantia Foundations translations are current, clean, and standardized.

Commentary: This goal has been exceeded. The Foundations website will have fourteen compliant translations completed in 2010. Of all the Foundations website projects, the most important may be providing these high quality, digitally consistent, and readily available translations. Clean, standardized files, which are properly identified and referenced, provide the basis for translation revisions, topical studies, and consistent books in all digital formats.

4. Community Relations Goals: Increase goodwill and communications with Urantia Book readers and reader groups worldwide especially in Latin America.

Commentary:

a. Fostering goodwill and cooperation with readers worldwide remains a top priority. Board members and staff attended many regional conferences this year and gave presentations about the work of Urantia Foundation. Urantia Foundations News Online has been published twice this year with over seven thousand downloads per issue.

b. Many groups are holding multi-day meetings at the Foundations headquarters in Chicago. This wonderful building, the birthplace of the Urantia Revelation, is becoming an increasingly important center for various groups working for the Urantia Book project.

5. Education: Goals: Inaugurate the new Urantia Book Internet School (UBIS) website and further the educational activities provided by, or coordinated with, Urantia Foundation.

Commentary:

a. New software for UBIS was launched this past spring. Improvements are being made as teachers and students discover how the new software works and how to improve it.

b. In June, the Education Committee held an Appreciative Inquiry session on study groups at the Foundation. Attendance exceeded thirty leaders consisting of people intent on running successful study groups. Urantia Foundation remains committed to the goal of having one thousand study groups by 2020, and we desire collaboration with individuals and organizations committed to study groups. Urantia Association International and the Urantia Book Fellowship have a number of significant projects underway to foster study groups, efforts which have the Foundations full support.

6. Organizational Development Goals: Continue improving governance at Urantia Foundation: Board orientation, Board education, succession planning, and various other governance processes that improve Urantia Foundations ability to serve the Urantia Book project and the community of readers.

Commentary: The infrastructure for building an enduring and service-motivated organization continues to progress. Standing and special committees have become a strong working component of the Foundation. Largely due to the Governance Committees work, 2010 will see a higher water mark in organizational integrity.

7. Financials Goals: Stay within the approved 2010 operating budget and increase donations by five percent.

Commentary: Operating expenses in the first half of 2010 exceeded budget. Measures have been taken to reduce expenditures for the rest of the year. Donations have slightly increased this year, but by less than our goal. Urantia Foundation needs your support to fund translations, book sales and distribution, digital dissemination, UBIS, website improvement, and maintenance of the headquarters building in Chicago. Profits from book sales fund less than five percent of the Foundations expenses. More than ninety-five percent of what it takes to run Urantia Foundation comes from contributions. Urantia Foundation relies on the reader community's generosity and financial support to make available The Urantia Book and its translations.