By Judy Van Cleave, secretary, Urantia Foundation, Idaho, United States
Two New Associate Trustees
Please help us welcome two new associate trustees to Urantia Foundation. Gaétan Charland and Gary Deinstadt have joined the board of Urantia Foundation. Both men are highly experienced servers of the Urantia Revelation and accomplished in their chosen occupations. Gaétan was formerly the president of Urantia Association International, and Gary spent 13 years serving on the General Council of the Urantia Book Fellowship.
We welcome them with open hearts and are confident that they will bring wisdom, an enlarged perspective, and much service to our work. Congratulations, Gaétan and Gary! Thank you for continuing to accept the call of devoting your lives to the most important spiritual project taking place in our world.
Incomplete Translations
It has been the policy of Urantia Foundation to only publish completed translations on urantia.org. Some translators, however, have a passion to share their work in progress with individuals who desire to read The Urantia Book in their mother tongue. To support a growing world-wide readership, a new policy was approved making incomplete translations available on urantia.org and other approved websites.
Per this policy, each time an incomplete translation is approved to appear on our website or others, it will be accompanied by:
⚫ A branded identifier that shows that the files are a Urantia Foundation publication
⚫ The Foundation’s copyright notice on the publisher page
⚫ A note, both on the publisher page and another prominent place that is easily seen, explaining that the HTML version of the translation is a “draft-in process”
⚫ The Text Identification Number (TIN) on the publisher page
⚫ The watermark or note “DRAFT” at the beginning of every paper for PDF, Word Docs, and all other downloadable files of the translation
In addition, the use of these identifiers will extend to all Urantia Foundation translations appearing on a website. They include:
⚫ A branded identifier that shows that the files are a Urantia Foundation publication
⚫ The Foundation’s copyright notice on the publisher page
⚫ The Text Identification Number (TIN) on the publisher page
Staffing at Urantia Foundation
Joanne and John Strobel have decided to remain in Chicago and work at Urantia Foundation. Considering how much they do, this is a huge benefit, and we are grateful they are staying!
After reviewing internal roles and responsibilities, we hired Lainey Doremus to join our team on a part-time basis. Lainey brings many skills including a professional background in editing. She is enjoying her time supporting the staff with day-to-day tasks and other projects. Welcome Lainey!
The Use of the Concentric Circles Symbol as a Trademark on Books
In 2007, the board of Urantia Foundation approved a book trademark policy to use the Concentric Circles Symbol only as a means of identifying The Urantia Book and its translations. As The Urantia Book finds its way throughout the world, this is one of the tools that Urantia Foundation uses to protect the integrity of the original English text and its translations.
The board reaffirmed this policy during its April meeting. Urantia Foundation will no longer use the trademarked Concentric Circles Symbol on any secondary books it publishes. The policy also applies to any books published by groups who are licensed to use the symbol.
This policy does not pertain to the personal use of the three concentric circles. It pertains only to the use of the Concentric Circles trademark on books. This will help us safeguard the original text and translations being created through our quality processes. For more information on personal usage of the three concentric circles, click here [2].
Outreach
The Philippines: The board is supporting the Urantia Book related activities of Eugene and Belen Asidao during their current trip to the Philippines. This is their third trip to continue establishing reader groups and placing Urantia Books in libraries and universities. The Philippines is proving to be fertile ground for the revelation because 92% of its one hundred million inhabitants are Christian. Huge thanks go to Eugene and Belen for their unselfish service to people in the Philippines.
Colombia: Wilson León and Andrés Ramírez spoke with the board via video teleconferencing. After listening to their inspiring stories, the board agreed to further support their outreach efforts. Wilson and Andrés attend book fairs throughout Latin America and place books in locations such as schools, universities, study groups, and libraries. Huge thanks goes to the Colombian Urantia Association for their amazing efforts in Latin America.
If you are inspired to donate to these outreach efforts, please send your restricted contributions to Urantia Foundation specifying outreach for the Philippines or Latin America. You can make a difference getting the Urantia Revelation into the world!
Parliament of the World’s Religions 2018 and the Wild Goose Festival: Urantia Foundation is happy to report on the cooperative efforts between Urantia Foundation, UAI, the Fellowship, and truthbook.com to design, create, and operate a booth at the upcoming Parliament. Thanks to the efforts of all four organizations, this year’s Parliament booth will be beautiful and operated by well-trained individuals. The Parliament will be held in Toronto, Canada, from November 1–6. Urantia Foundation is also working with the Fellowship to support a booth at the Emergent Christian Wild Goose Festival this July.
Outreach Joint Ventures: In future years, Urantia Foundation will increase its participation in coordinating and supporting many outreach programs. While the budgets do not allow for supporting every outreach effort, the Foundation is thrilled to participate and sponsor as many programs as it can.
Book Sales
Book sales for the quarter were up in almost every language except German. Last year there was a surprisingly high volume of German book sales in the first quarter that did not reoccur this year, so the overall sales numbers were down. The good news, however, is that English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French sales increased. Downloads were also up 27% for the quarter with Spanish and Portuguese books being the vast majority.
Finance and Donations
Year to date, there have been no surprises to the financial situation at the Foundation. Expenses were 3% above 2017 but slightly below budget. Donations were on track; even so, there is still a long way to go to hit the required $750,000 for 2018. We appreciate your support!
Back: Eugene Asidao
Front: Belen Asidao, Allan Bancairen, Arnel Lacson, Georcynth Peattie