How Does The Temple Operate?

 Sometimes the behind-the-scenes operation of our temple (and other religious organizations) can be a little confusing.  So we thought it might be helpful to give you all a short run-down of what we are doing behind-the-scenes. 

Our temple president, Mike Iseri, recently wrote a short article regarding funding and temple leadership that might help make our processes a little clearer. We wanted to share it here as well. 

Some may wonder where Idaho-Oregon Buddhist Temple gets money to operate.  

First, and probably most obviously, we have several fund-raising activities throughout the year. Our biggest event of the year is our Obon Festival.  Obon is a very important holiday in our tradition--during this time we celebrate our ancestors. In fact, the dancing that we do at Obon is a way to "dance with our ancestors."  Even though this is primarily a religious and cultural event and a time to share our traditions with the community, it is also a time when we receive money through donations and sales of food and crafts. 

Second, we  have our annual Bazaar, where we sell food, host an auction, and have other activities that vary a bit each year. This is typically in the fall when our farmers are able to donate produce to our event. 

Finally, we have our yard sales.  We used to have one big yard sale, but we have been transitioning to several smaller sales scattered out throughout the year. 

Probably our major source of income is our pledges. If you get the temple bulletin, you may have seen the "Pledge Report" which lists donors and dollar ranges.  These are annual commitments made by people associated with the temple.   Pledges go a long way to help pay for our daily operations.  We appreciate all our pledge paying members.  The pledges are recorded on an annual basis.  Donations can be in a lump sum or they can be made in installments.  We adapt to however donors want to give. 

Members and friends of the Temple also make memorial donations that are acknowledged each month in our bulletin.  We are very big on remembering those who came before us and people routinely donate in their memory.  Donations are also made regulary for special services.  We don't see this much anymore, there were times when people would donate on their birthday, after recovering from an illness, returning after a trip, the birth of a baby, or any other happy event to share their good fortune and appreciation with others.  

Much of the money that we receive goes to our daily operations:  heat, water, lights, maintenence, ministers salary and travel. 

In addition, each year our temple is expected to give money (dues) to the organizations that support us and make our temple possible.  These are the Northwest District Council of Buddhist Churches of America (BCA) as well as the National BCA. The organizatons provide ongoing training for ministers and members, coordinating national and regional conferences, and maintaining buildings and infrastruction used by all of the temples and their members. 

Over the years, various people and organizations would support the temple in buying needed objects. Many of these objects, such as furniture, lanterns, altar items, etc have donation plaques showing the name of the person who donated them.  Many of these names are in Japanese, but you can look for them next time you visit. 

One of the things that is different than other religious organizations in the US, is that whether or not a person is a temple member, is based on donating a minimum amount to the temple.Temple membership is base on a financial commitment, not a spiritual one.  You do not have to identify as Buddhist to be a member!  Sometimes this can feel a bit confusing for people who come from traditions where there is a religous ritual, such as baptism, needed to become a member. 

Like other non-profit organisations, we have a temple president and a board. At IOBT the make-up of our board has been pretty stable over the last few years.  But we would welcome new participants in helping us plan for the future. If anyone is interested in serving on the Temple board, we'd be quite happy to talk to you about it. To serve as a board member we do expect that the person be a pledge-paying member.

If you have any questions about any aspect of the temple, we are more than happy to address it.  Please don't be shy about sending us an email or pulling one of our temples aside to ask a question--we are not scary and we  want the operations of our temple to be understood by our community.