Frequently asked questions

On this page I will be addressing any questions you may have, including information about why the Abbey doesn't fundraise.

Email me at lewis@peaceabbey.org

Thanks, Lewis

OVERVIEW: The fundraising industry has all but nullified the human capacity to see the needs of others and respond without having to be approached or called upon to give. The barrage of fundraising appeals that clutter our mail boxes -- the phone calls, emails, TV and radio spots -- the proverbial "basket" that keeps getting passed inevitably conditions us to only support those charities that spend thousands of dollars on fundraising, as they play the law of average at the expense of money that should be devoted to the cause of the organization.

Our sensitivity, the human instinct to respond to the needs of those less fortunate is manipulated by Madison Avenue style, focus group appeals that render, in Quaker terminology, "that still small voice" inaudible. Somehow, not competing with other nonprofits for financial support is in itself an act of conscience, it is a form of nonviolence. While there is nothing violent about fundraising, there is however, something decidedly more nonviolent about not fundraising and relying on word-of-mouth of those who love and support the work of a given charitable organization.

This, of course, requires great faith, faith that the Peace Abbey has a spiritual energy that will attract what it needs as it always has in the past 20 years, some 35 years for the Life Experience School, its parent organization. We have nothing against grants because foundations are set up to provide funding through a prescribed corporate format. Human beings, however, should be related to on a heart level, (word-of-mouth) not by means that closely resemble the selling of a product at the mall. Call us crazy, naive, fool-hearted. One thing that's for sure, and that is we are still able to hear that "still small voice" within. We are, in a certain sense, standing vigil to a principle that lies at the heart of the Peace Abbey. Some things are worth sacrificing for and this is one we consider precious: allow people to give without being asked. (This very act is almost extinct in our society.)

People are generous and love to offer to help without being asked. Discuss the subject with anyone and more than likely they will tell you that the place they come from when they offer to help is far deeper than where they come from when they respond to fundraising appeals. We feel that it is important that at least one nonprofit peace organization holds this truth as sacrosanct -- no doubt, of course, there are many.

The only contributions to the Abbey come from people who offer having never been asked - and they number in the hundreds. Not a single cent was spent to attract them. All of our supporters found it within themselves to offer once learning about our needs. That in itself is reason to continue to believe that fundraising is not the only life-line for nonprofits.

Say a prayer for the Peace Abbey and the spirit of idealism that is at work everywhere in the world.

Q1) Why don't you fundraise like other nonprofits?
A: We're not at all like other organizations in many important respects and the fact that we rely on people who value our work to "offer" to help is emblematic of our value system. Above all else we value a spiritual awareness of how the Universe works. For 35 years we've been pursuing this method of attracting what we need with an understanding of karma at work in our lives and the pervasive law of attraction. Granted, we have on occasion been forced into foreclosure only to be rescued at the eleventh hour. (Yoko Ono bailed us out once, and twice anonymous donors saved the day.) Nevertheless, waiting for people to offer to help is our unique way of putting into practice what is at work beneath the surface. God works in mysterious ways, so you might say we're just making room for mystery. It literally takes my breath away when out of nowhere someone steps forward to offer. Sure hope it continues.

Q2) I don't get why you prefer to wait for people to offer when people are accustomed to being asked. Is this some hang-up you have?
A: If that's what you prefer to call it. But this hang up, such as it is, breathes life-sustaining spirit into the soul of the Peace Abbey. I can sense it and so can others. It's like watching miracles happen versus meeting fundraising quotas. Putting our trust in this sort of lifeline is what the Abbey is all about. Then there's the issue of competing interests, competing causes. We would rather rely on this unique dynamic within human relationships than turn to the corporate model of competitive fundraising where those nonprofits that succeed do so at the expense of equally, or in many cases, more worthy organizations.

Q3) The Globe article said you find it degrading. Isn't it degrading to put the Abbey through the public spectacle of being on the brink of closing its doors?
A: It would be degrading if the Abbey wasn't comfortable being vulnerable and true to its mission of creating models for social change. This model of attracting funds is what naturally occurs in life if generosity isn't institutionalized through the corporate model of fundraising. We at the Abbey seek to find resonance with that dormant place that waits to be activated through the promptings of the heart, without the need for focus-grouped, fundraising appeals that exploit human nature through pressure, sympathy, guilt or obligation. When fundraising is employed, nonprofits, whether they like it or not, accept the dog eat dog mentality of the system. No thanks.

Q4) Specifically, what do you see wrong with fundraising? Do you feel it's beneath you?
A: It's not that fundraising is beneath us or degrading, it's just that we've always resisted playing the game of losers and winners. I'd rather see the Abbey risk not securing sufficient funds than partake in a practice that pits one nonprofit against another. That, as everyone knows, is what the fundraising model is predicated on and therefore is not an option for the Abbey. Conventional wisdom suggests that asking is required before people give--most people perhaps. But the people who would find the Peace Abbey to their liking most likely don't conform much to conventional anything.

Q5) Why rule out fundraising all together? Maybe a blend of both approaches is in order.
A: It's not that we've never engaged in fundraising --we have. Because it was suggested by supporters years ago, we gave it a shot and found the experience to be unseemly and out of character. Fine for other organizations, but not in harmony with the spirit of the Peace Abbey. Furthermore, the Abbey in its long history has rarely received contributions from those who were directly solicited by supporters; gifts come when people learn about our situation and then offer. Put your trust in that. Just get the word out.

Q6) All religions are represented in sacred text and statuary in the Abbey Chapel. Why aren't all twelve faith traditions supporting the Abbey?
A: While I can't speak for any group other than the Abbey, one thing is clear and that is nearly all religions maintain that they should remain the exclusive spiritual focus for their members. Seeing where one faith intersects with another faith is viewed by many clergy as a threat -- a distraction to the singular attention given to one religious tradition and that tradition's hold on the spiritual purse strings of its members. They, understandably, prefer that their practitioners give solely to them and assure such is the case through tithing. Only wiggle room for additional acts of generosity exists when a family is tapped out. Were we to be under a particular faith, any faith for that matter, solvency would be assured. Some individual congregations give to the Abbey regularly like Wellesley Quaker Meeting and Pilgrim Church in Sherborn.

Churches throughout New England take fieldtrips to the Abbey to learn about other faiths and make contributions for the services rendered. We welcome their support, though we will remain independent of organized religion, keeping true to our multi-faith mission to organize, organized religion while promoting peace, dialogue, social justice, nonviolence and cruelty-free living.

Q7) Why does the Abbey risk its support by harboring deserters and soldiers gone AWOL?
A: We have long provided sanctuary to young adults with disabilities, animals that have escaped from slaughterhouses, children wounded in Iraq, Central American refugees seeking political asylum and soldiers who refuse to wage war for oil and weapons industry profits. This we always have done and will continue to do so long as we occupy these buildings.

The above answers no doubt will lead to more questions and a need for clarification. I look forward to hearing from folks that would like to offer suggestions, too. Email me at abbeypeace@aol.com

Thanks, Lewis