The Pulse is a monthly newsletter with updates on recent work from Illuman's governing bodies, operations councils, and local chapters. You can also find it on the Council Leaders Corner of the Illuman website (password: councils2022).
Please submit your Council or Chapter's monthly report via this form.
Fresh and exciting things are afoot in Illuman as we step into the New Year! Our governing bodies and operations councils are working on several new major initiatives. You can read more in the council updates below, but here are some highlights:
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The Board has restructured, delegating oversight of specific operational areas (e.g. communications, fundraising, programs, etc.) to individual board members. This will reduce the burden on the Board Chair and create more direct lines of communication between the Board and the various operations councils.
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Chapters continue to develop collaborations for greater impact, including in the Pacific Northwest, the East Coast, and now in ongoing discussions among several Southwest chapters. This move toward regionalization will be a major area of focus for the Chapter Development Council this year.
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The Communications Council is gearing up to launch a major new series of emails meditations specifically for men.
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The Curricula Council just launched two new cohort tracks, both of which maxed out on participants!
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The Development and Fundraising Council just added a six new members, all of whom bring a great deal of prior experience in institutional fundraising. Already plans are in the works to significantly expand Illuman's fundraising efforts this year.
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The Technology Council is on the verge of unveiling MemberLeap, a new online database platform that will provide Illuman men new ways to connect with one another, and chapters with new, integrated software solutions for events, email marketing, website hosting, and more.
The overarching theme is that Illuman is steadily building capacity for growth, not as an end in itself, but so that we can reach even more men with the gifts of ritual, story, image, nature, council, and contemplative spirituality. As Illuman steps into it's second decade of existence, we are developing the tools, structures, and processes we need to become a mature and well-organized non-profit that can have an increasingly large impact in the world.
With Eager Anticipation,
Mike Clawson
Illuman Administrator
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- Board of Directors
- Chapter Development Council
- Community of Conveners
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- Curricula Council
- Technology Council
- Weavers Council
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Charters, responsibilities, and contacts for each of Illuman's Operations Councils can be found here.
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Board of Directors - January 14
Contact: board@illuman.org
Members Present: Steve Hicken, Ned Abenroth, Terry Symens-Bucher, Jamey Bontrager-Singer, Jim Burns, Tim Callan, Mark Funkhouser, Juan Hinojosa, Mike Anderer, Roland Fernandes, Tom Reid, Mike Clawson
This meeting was an extended Board Retreat for three hours with both the continuing board members as well as our four new members (Tim Callan, Jim Burns, Mark Funkhouser, and Juan Hinojosa). A significant amount of time was spent getting to know one another. We also had conversation around developing a shared understanding of governance and operations. We also discussed and approved the 2023 national Illuman budget. Next meeting of the Board is scheduled for January 31, 8-9:30 ET.
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Chapter Development Council - January 4
Contact: communications@illuman.org
Members Present: Jamey Bontrager-Singer, John Ball, Mike Clawson, Seth Burgess, Terry Frisbie, Tim Callan
The Chapter Development Council discussed its goals for 2023. John Ball reported on the East Coast Collaboration's work as a resource, support, and encouragement for the men up and down the East Coast as they try to get Council groups going in their home areas. The group agreed that we’d like to discuss this topic more in our next meeting, given how central it is to Illuman. We acknowledged how important it is to keep the momentum going that is active in Illuman right now with the Reweaving Council, the CDC, the Board reorganization, etc.
Tim Callan talked about his transition from the CDC to being the Board’s representative to the Reweaving Council (RC), taking on Liability Issues, and looking at the use of Illuman IP. We will need new CDC members from the Convener community to cover for Tim, Arturo, and Mark, who are all stepping down from the CDC. We will also need to select a new representative to the RC and leaders for the Convener Mentor program. Jamey is taking on the role of the representative from the Board to the Conveners and the CDC.
Tim also reported that discussions about a possible regional collaboration between Arizona and New Mexico are still proceeding. At our next meeting, we will review our accomplishments over the last couple of years and look more into how the work of Illuman DC and their East Coast Collaborative to support the formation of local council groups in a wider region could be spread more widely across Illuman.
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Community of Conveners - January 11
Contact: conveners@illuman.org
Mike Clawson began the Council with announcements, including a reminder that each chapter should register only one representative for Oracle, April 13-16 at John Knox Ranch in Fischer, TX. Mike will also be sending out an annual survey to update any new/retiring conveners, and to capture tax EIN numbers for IRS reporting purposes. He also anticipated having a bare bones version of the new MemberLeap CRM ready by March, in time for the Awaken (formerly Soularize) registration to open.
Jamey Bontrager-Singer addressed the Conveners concerning the new delegation of board member responsibilities. Jamey will be the liaison between the board and the Convener Council. He made a presentation outlining the shift of Board chair responsibilities to governance and oversight and, consequently, the need for other board members to take on oversight of other areas of operations, including liaising with any related Councils. Jamey also briefly addressed the upcoming shift to a "trustee" model of governance for Illuman US in which the Wisdom Elders would take on more oversight and fiduciary responsibility for the organization as a whole, while still delegating most operational decisions to the Board of Directors.
Terry Frisbie of the Chapter Development Council (CDC) informed us that the CDC needed to fill 3-4 positions since several current members were stepping down. Interested Conveners (or past Conveners) can indicate their interest by emailing the council at cdc@illuman.org. Terry also noted that, among many important projects, one main CDC focus for 2023 would be encouraging possible regional collaborations among chapters.
Proposed agenda topics for our next meeting included:
How do chapters address diversity?
Reweaving Update
What constitutes an elder?
How can a chapter encourage the formation of new local councils?
Technology Update
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Curricula Council - January 2
Contact: curricula@illuman.org
Members Present: Dan Dolquist, Jim Taylor, John Lew, Mark Funkhouser, Ned Abenroth
The Curriculum Council group members met in early January to discuss the Howling at the Moon and Journey into the Deep Masculine Cohorts, both launching in January. Howling Cohorts had 30 applicants. The limited number of available Cohort guides meant that only 18 were able to be admitted, divided into two cohorts - one led by John Lew and Jim Michaels and the other by Ed Bennell and Timmer Cashman. The Deep Masculine Cohort is also is full with 14 applicants. Descriptions for each program can be found on the Illuman website: illuman.org/howling/ and illuman.org/deep-masculine/.
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Technology Council - January 11, 2022
Contact: it@illuman.org
Members Present: Andy Gray, Anthony Monticchio, Brian Mueller, Mike Clawson, Tim Sullivan, Jim Burns
The Technology Council met to discuss the implementation of our new database and website software, MemberLeap. Right now we are on track for it to be launched by March 1st, after which we will begin the process of encouraging Illuman men to set up member accounts on the new platform, giving them access to a host of new tools for connecting with one another. We will also begin setting up MemberLeap databases/sites for any chapters who want them as well.
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Weavers Council - January 6
Contact: weavers@illuman.org
Members Present: Jim Clarke, Bob White, Jim Taylor, Joel Blunk, Giovanni Perez, Ned Abenroth
- The Stoker Program, which began in Washington to enhance the Council Circle experience during MROPs, is now being made optionally available to other chapters hosting the rites.
- The Weaver Apprenticeship process was discussed and generated a number of ideas to improve upon what’s been done.
- Weavers and Ritual Elders are being invited to meet together during the first quarter of this year to review updates and changes to the MROP manual.
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Didn't see an update for your Council?
To ensure your Council is included in the next edition of The Illuman Pulse, please assign a member to write a short summary following your next meeting and submit it via the form below.
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“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
― Rob Siltanen (shared at an Illuman Board Meeting)
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