August 2020
Dear Meher Center Family and Friends,
A loving Jai Baba to each of you.
In May of this year, we reached out to you to share some major changes in the Center’s financial situation.
We were deeply concerned with how the pandemic would impact the Center’s 2020 operating budget as well as how it would affect the value of the Center’s endowment.
As you know, to help protect the health of our community, the Center has remained closed since the middle of March. While the loss of cabin fee income has continued, the level of donation support has been overwhelmingly positive. We are truly in awe of how He has moved so many to be so supportive of the Center during this challenging time. We are no longer concerned that the level of this year’s donations will fall far short of what was budgeted. In fact, with what has already been received and pledged, this year’s donations should be of real help in keeping the Center from having to draw an unhealthy level of funds from its endowment.
On the other hand, you may remember from our communication in May that the Center’s endowment relies greatly on the dividends and valuation of its holdings in Burroughs & Chapin Company, the company that Elizabeth Patterson’s father co-founded in the early 1900s. As we previously shared, B&C discontinued its dividend payments for this year. That has not changed. And, as a privately owned company, B&C only has its stock value determined once a year. When that occurs next, in early 2021, we expect a significant reduction of value and, therefore, a significant reduction in the value of the Center’s financial holdings.
The primary way in which the Center’s financial situation can be made healthier is through donations. The generous support that the Center has received in recent months will keep the 2020 operating budget from creating long-term damage. But, as we move into the uncertainties of the future, it will remain our shared opportunity and responsibility to do what each of us can to help the Center become financially stronger.
As a board, we have committed ourselves to sustaining an ongoing flow of communication about the Center’s financial picture. We plan to send another update in November.
Once again, we thank all of you for being so incredibly supportive during this year’s uniquely challenging events.
As a reminder, you can donate to the Center through our website at www.mehercenter.org/donate, where you can choose to begin a monthly donation or give a one-time gift. Or, if you prefer, you can send a check to the address listed below. If you have an existing monthly donation and would like to increase it, please contact the Gateway at (843) 272-5777 or Gateway@mehercenter.org.
In His Love,
Meher Spiritual Center, Inc. Board of Directors
Meher Center, 10200 North Kings Highway, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina 29572
