Dharma Forward: Now Is the Time to Reach Campaign's Goal

Dharma Forward has been a significant fundraising effort by the BCA and IBS over the past five years. 

It has resulted in $12.6 million in donations since its inception. In this President’s message, I would like to trace the history of this important campaign and acknowledge all who have contributed their ideas, advocacy and support that have allowed the campaign to achieve its success. I also hope that it will encourage readers to show their deep appreciation for all their efforts and provide additional support to the campaign as we near its completion at the end of this year. 

The Dharma Forward campaign evolved from more than a decade of discussions and actions by BCA and IBS leadership.

In the early 2010s, an effort to coordinate fundraising began. At that time, multiple letters requesting donations were sent to BCA members, which led to comments like, “What letter should I respond to?” and “All the BCA wants is more money.” 

BCA Vice President Charlene Grinolds from the White River Buddhist Temple led the effort to coordinate and consolidate the donation effort.

In 2015, Bishop Rev. Kodo Umezu approached the BCA Endowment Foundation (BCAEF) and requested that in addition to being responsible for investments, BCAEF return to its historical roots to be responsible for development for Jodo Shinshu Buddhism in America. That role was established in 1929 with the launch of the Zaidan fund. Having made that commitment, BCAEF created the Joint Committee on Development (JCoD) to bring together the BCA, IBS and BCAEF under one umbrella to coordinate fundraising efforts. JCoD was led by Koichi Sayano (BCAEF) and me (BCA)

The coordinated fundraising effort with the organizational backing of JCoD and BCA President Ken Tanimoto culminated in the launch of the Dana Program in 2016. The Dana Program provides necessary financial support for the BCA’s annual operating needs, including the Center for Buddhist Education (CBE) and BCA’s allocation to the Institute of Buddhist Studies (IBS), line items in BCA’s annual budget.

With the successful launch of the Dana Program addressing operational needs of the BCA, JCoD turned its attention to the need for a new capital campaign to provide the financial resources for the future. The last capital campaign was the 21st Century Campaign. It ran in the early 2000s and raised over $20 million ending in 2011. The donations were mostly dedicated to establishing the Jodo Shinshu Center (JSC), which opened in 2006. However, it had been a generation since the BCA had put together a campaign to raise monies for future investment in new initiatives and programs for Jodo Shinshu Buddhism in America. 

Dharma Forward’s Start

A special session of JCoD met March 29, 2018, marking the genesis of the Dharma Forward campaign. At the meeting were key leaders of the BCA and BCAEF: Rev. Marvin Harada, Rev. Jerry Hirano, Rev. Patti Usuki, Bishop Rev. Kodo Umezu,  Rick Stambul, Terri Omori, Steve Terusaki, Hide Mizuno, Steve Okamoto, Koichi Sayano and Tom Nishikawa. 

Others not in attendance but instrumental in the creation of the Dharma Forward campaign were the late Rev. Dr. Seigen Yamaoka, Rev. Dr. David Matsumoto, the late Jeff Folick and John Mullins. 

The JCoD special session tackled the following issues, including: 

• Planning for a new five-year fundraising campaign;

• Investing in outreach efforts;

• Funding IBS professional chair endowments;

• Enhancing ministerial benefits;

• Developing Buddhist education; and

• Funding the needs of BCA facilities, including the JSC and upgrades to the BCA headquarters in San Francisco.

At the meeting, Rev. Patti Usuki voiced a passionate appeal that the purpose of the campaign should be to ensure that the Dharma is available for future generations. It set the focus of the campaign to center on the dharma as its purpose.

In November 2018, BCAEF President Charles Ozaki introduced the motion to the BCAEF board that resulted in supporting the new campaign. 

In March 2019 at the BCA’s National Council Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, BCA President Rick Stambul oversaw the approval of the campaign along with a resolution for use of the first $1 million in campaign donations.

In preparation for the public launch of the campaign, a number of decisions and commitments needed to be made. The first was to settle on a name for the campaign. BCA Treasurer Jeffery Matsuoka, of the Buddhist Church of San Francisco, filtered through all the various permutations of campaign names and offered a simple, DHARMA FORWARD. It resonated and it stuck. 

The campaign committee struggled with many other issues. In response, the late Jeff Folick, of the Orange County Buddhist Church and BCAEF Vice President, encouraged the committee that it did not have to have everything complete to launch. He stated, “The time is now. We can’t wait any further.” It was with Jeff’s fervent statement that the committee moved forward to a public launch at the National Council Meeting in Renton, Washington, in February 2020.

In preparation for the public launch, a campaign film was created to introduce the Dharma Forward Campaign to the BCA Sangha. A draft storyboard was created by John Inge, of the Tacoma Buddhist Temple, and fleshed out by John Mullins, of the San Fernando Valley Hongwanji Buddhist Temple, and IBS student who worked closely with Joshua Izenberg of Only Human — an award-winning filmmaker from the Bay Area. 

In developing the storyline, Bishop Rev. Marvin Harada introduced the narrative of the monarch butterfly. It was the story of the migration of the monarch butterfly over multiple generations and its ability to return home. 

The analogy with the BCA could be clearly seen. Generations of Shin Buddhist followers have stepped forward and through their perseverance and dedicated efforts have built the Buddhist Churches of America as our home. 

It is now the responsibility of this generation to cement the legacy of the efforts of these past generations to ensure that there will always be a home where the Dharma can move forward into the future. 

This film is available for viewing on the BCA YouTube channel and can be accessed here: bit.ly/3RjXSDh

I encourage you to revisit the founding principles of the Dharma Forward campaign that are highlighted in the film.

Since 2020

Since the campaign’s inception, $12.6 million of the $15 million goal has been received.

Initial efforts to promote the campaign were hampered by the pandemic. As temples were forced to close, the campaign took a backseat to the concerns around public safety of social gatherings. 

Despite the overwhelming pressure it placed on temples and churches, leadership within the BCA, BCAEF and IBS led the way with contributions to the campaign. As life began to return to normal the Dharma Forward campaign received support and contributions grew over time.

Dharma Forward has made a meaningful impact in a variety of areas, including:

• Supporting ministerial aspirants on their journey to Tokudo ordination and Kyoshi certification; 

• Providing financial assistance for the ministerial assistant training programs; 

• Helping temples refresh their websites; 

• Increasing the financial strength of the IBS endowed professorial chairs; 

• Hiring a Field Education Director supporting ministerial and chaplaincy students at IBS; 

• Supporting the production of audio books;

• Supporting new gatha music and Obon Odori; and

• Restoring the Kosho Ohtani Building Fund as a low-interest rate loan resource for local temples and churches faced with renovations and maintenance issues.

Fulfilling these various needs are examples of the value that Dharma Forward has brought to both BCA and IBS. Each represents another step in the journey to ensure the future of Shin Buddhism in America.

Dharma Forward has also been the catalyst to invest in a dedicated team that oversees the fundraising efforts. In 2020, Michiko Inanaga joined the BCAEF staff to work with Executive Director Hide Mizuno as the Development Director, overseeing Dharma Forward and the broad range of development activities that support the BCA and IBS. 

In 2023, Hitomi Kuwahara joined the development team to provide administrative support for the processing and acknowledgement of donations. 

It has also spurred an organizational structure within the BCA that is based on the four areas of focus that have become the Dharma Forward Pillars: Buddhist Education (Jim Pollard and Carl Yanari); Technology and Outreach (Brad Ito and Rick Kawamura); Ministerial Support and  Scholarship (Rev. Dr. Kenji Akahoshi and Dr. Lisa Tsuchitani); and Facilities (Kyle Yamasaki). 

It has also spawned the Dharma Forward Allocation Board (DFAB), chaired by Charlene Grinolds, which oversees applications for use of Dharma Forward donations designated for the BCA. DFAB ensures that there is accountability and transparency in the designation and use of these funds.

Dharma Forward Giving

With the campaign coming to a close at the end of 2025, we invite you to join in finishing this campaign strong. 

If you have already contributed, we thank you wholeheartedly and we encourage you to contribute again to continue the programs and initiatives that have been started. If you are considering a donation for the first time, now is the perfect time to do so. Pledges with contributions over time are a wonderful way to help achieve the goal.

For more information, please contact Michiko Inanaga (minanaga@bcahq.org), who can help direct your questions to the appropriate professionals.

Every gift, no matter the size, plays a role in shaping the future for Shin Buddhism in America. Thank you for being part of this journey. 

As the late Rev. Dr. Seigen Yamaoka stated, in his last JCoD meeting in November 2023, it was his hope that Dharma Forward be the name of fundraising for BCA forever into the future. The campaign’s end is just the ending of this phase of Dharma Forward. 

Let us acknowledge Yamaoka Sensei’s wish for a successful completion to this phase of Dharma Forward and be ready to ensure that the Dharma will continue to move forward for the future of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism in America.

Now is the time to make it all happen!