“When a man undertakes to create something, he establishes a new heaven, as it were, and from it the work that he desires to create flow into him… For such is the immensity of man that he is greater than heaven and earth.” – Paracelsus
Dear Friends,
For life to have meaning it requires that we ask ourselves a single question, “Why am I here?” The answer we give to that question defines our purpose or mission in life. Movements, like individuals, also have a mission, and to be successful it must be clearly defined so as to be achievable – or as it is called, a mission statement. The Mission Statement of the Institute for Hermetic Studies states:
The Institute for Hermetic Studies is an organization dedicated to preserving the living Western wisdom traditions of personal spiritual awakening. This is accomplished through the production and maintenance of exceptionally high quality classes, conferences, books, instructional materials and communities to assist individuals in developing an effective personal spiritual practice. It is our vision to have fostered and supported new and existing in-person esoteric groups and communities that will sustain the living and varied Western esoteric traditions into the twenty-first century.
However, to do this requires money, both in the present, and set aside for the future. A future each of us as well as our children and grandchildren may benefit from, and even ourselves again if reincarnation is truly real.
As you are aware, the Institute was established in 1998, and over the past twenty-three years has contributed extensively to the promotion and understanding of esotericism. We have published over thirty books, appeared on numerous television and radio shows, and well close to one-hundred podcasts. This is in addition to sponsoring seminars, an annual conference, online classes, and our Prison Outreach Program.
Now, in the summer of 2021, I, the Board of Directors, and volunteers desire to move on the next important phases of the Institute’s growth and development – the establishment of an organizational financial endowment for the Institute for Hermetic Studies.
This endowment, like those all healthy and successful non-profit organizations have, is to be the legal structure whereby the Institute for Hermetic Studies is able to manage its financial resources so as to able to carry out its stated mission indefinitely and in perpetuity:
As an all-volunteer organization, we are dependent on a handful of people to perform a large amount of duties. In most instances that works well; however, there are simply times when supplies, space, and technical support need to be paid for in order to ensure a continuity of quality and reliability. For now, much of that is easily done through commercially available platforms, such as our classes on Teachable. However, we need to prepare for the reality that change happens, and the more we are dependent on external entities, the more vulnerable we are to those changes.
For the Institute to mature to the next step of our “organizational adulthood” we need to take even greater responsibility for our financial future so that our mission can be accomplished.
To this end, the Board is seeking to raise an initial investment of $25,000 to be placed in an endowment at the Community Bank, N.A. Community Bank has over 230 offices and has been in operation for over 150 years. In addition, the Board has agreed to provide additional funding each year to the account to ensure its growth.
We are confident that with and through your participation we will raise this needed and critical funding and thereby ensure the Institute’s continued operations for another generation.
To encourage your participation and support, we are offering a naming opportunity for the endowment itself. Any individual donor who contributes 50% or more of the stated goal will be able to name the fund. Additionally, the donor list – as an ongoing entity – will be published as part of our general report to ensure readers are aware of your generosity.
We are also offering Life Time Memberships in the Institute’s online educational programs. For a single contribution of $2,500 you will be able to access all of our educational programs, those which currently exist and those to be added in the future, special members only sections, and conferences at no additional cost for as long as you desire. At current tuition prices, you will have found this to be an investment that has paid off in less than four years.
I, the Board of Directors, and the volunteers I have spoken with are confident that the IHS Endowment is critical in ensuring the long-term sustainability of the Institute and through it, means of studying and practicing Western esotericism for generations to come.
To make your donation, please send your check to:
Institute for Hermetic Studies
P.O. Box 4513
Wyoming, Pennsylvania 18644
Make Payable to: IHS Endowment Fund, or use the following GoFundMe link:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/ihs-endowment-resources-for-another-20-years
I look forward to bringing you more good news regarding this and future IHS projects to support this endowment. Please contact me if you have any questions regarding Life Time Memberships, Naming Opportunities, or other areas of service.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Mark Stavish, M.A.
Director of Studies
Institute for Hermetic Studies
