Linking and De-linking: Moving BCA into the Future

Writing this column monthly for the Wheel of Dharma is something I both dread but find exhilarating to have a platform to acknowledge and convey the exciting efforts that are happening around the BCA. 

As I wrote in June 2024, being in the President’s position offers a unique perspective on how all these efforts are interrelated. 

The question that I often hear is, “What does BCA do for me?” I hope that turning to Page 3 of the Wheel of Dharma and reading my articles will offer readers deeper insights into the valuable efforts that are being undertaken to make a difference for each and every one of us within our local temples and churches, and the larger communities which we are a part of. 

As I travel around the BCA, I am heartened to know that the President’s Message is having an influence in the discourse of “What does BCA do for me?” 

Linking BCA’s Strategic Plan Update to Dharma Forward

In this month’s message, I bring forth two initiatives that have been at the forefront of my agenda as BCA President. These two efforts are foundational to the future of BCA:

• Strategic Plan Update and;

• Dharma Forward campaign.

Both efforts have achieved significant successes and are now positioned to make a demonstrable effort to execute on the action steps to fulfill an exciting future for BCA. The Vision and Strategic Planning effort has provided:

Our updated Mission Statement:

The mission of BCA is to share

the Shin Buddhist teachings of wisdom and compassion

to enable all to live a meaningful and fulfilled life of gratitude.

And our updated Vision Statement:

BCA envisions that Shin Buddhism is

a flourishing tradition that shares the teachings through

an engaging ministry where inclusive communities cultivate

peace, understanding, and compassion for everyone.

The plan identifies five priorities to execute so that the BCA can move to the vision stated above. Within each priority area are specific strategies that identify the actions required to implement each strategy.

It is at this nexus where specific strategies require funding that the Dharma Forward campaign can step forward to provide the monies needed to execute on the strategies. 

As seen in the diagram, executing on the action plan requires investment dollars. It is this link between the strategic plan and the Dharma Forward campaign that we can see the direct impact that Dharma Forward’s generous donations can make to ensure the future of the BCA.

Currently under discussion are a few initiatives and action Items where the strategic plan has defined a need and Dharma Forward is providing the dollars to meet that need.

Priority Area	Strategy	Action
Ministerial Development	Support Ministers’ continuing education	Provide funding for travel to allow temples to send ministers to CBE continuing ed sessions at the JSC.
Organizational Development	Develop a common platform for member data	Invest and Implement in a new CRM system
Financial Capability	Create special purpose funds to support BCA	Invest Dharma Forward monies to create endowments for sources of recurring revenue
Organizational Development	Develop lay leadership at all levels in the organization	Invest in a formal program of leadership development for identified new leaders at the temples/churches and within the BCA, its committees & affiliated organizations.

De-Linking Census From Dues Assessments: Let’s Focus on Membership Growth

Let’s now turn to the topic of “De-linking.” A significant impediment to our ability to add to our membership at the local temple and church level has been the disincentive created by the direct link between census and the amount of dues to be paid to BCA. 

In our current approach for supporting the national BCA budget, increasing numbers of members at the local temple and church level has a concomitant result of increasing the amount of dues assessed to that temple or church. 

The current approach is a mathematical way to distribute the annual monetary support to the BCA based on a prorata share of a temple and church’s membership over the entire national membership count. Sounds fair and simple, right?

On the surface, it has worked for more than a couple of decades. However, the unintended consequences of this mathematical approach are to disincentivize the efforts to grow our sanghas. 

Further, membership information is collected and forwarded to BCA for only those individuals who “pay” a specified membership dues amount determined at the local temple and church level. How does that capture who is truly an engaged Sangha member in your temple and church? How can we disseminate information and excitement of what’s happening across BCA and its temples and churches without growing our contact database from membership information from the local temple and church? 

In my October 2024 article, I asked the question, “Who Is a Member?” I followed with a few thought-provoking questions:

• How does your temple or church count its members? Is it based on a “payment”?

• Does it matter how much an individual offers as a “payment” to be a member?

• Should it matter that the “payment” is offered as a membership fee; a “pledge;” a donation; or a contribution to the maintenance of the temple or church?

• When you greet an individual who regularly attends temple services, what prevents you from considering that individual a member?

• When has your temple, or resident minister, not provided services to someone in need? Is it based on membership? If services are provided, are they a member?

• Why are not members of Fellowships and Sanghas not counted as BCA members?

• What might be the protocol to count individuals who are members of more than one temple/church?

I encouraged the discussion of who is a “member” to be held at each of our temples and churches a year ago. Since then, I have realized that those discussions will require leadership from the BCA. That leadership must take the form of guidelines, or organizing a set of principles that can be used throughout the BCA. 

Without a BCA-initiated set of guidelines, the conversations will not happen and the initiative to increase our membership will continue to be “put on the back burner.” Because a BCA member is a member at the local temple or church, the determination of “Who is a member” must be decided at the local temple and church.

De-linking the census from dues assessments is a first step in being able to have the conversations about “Who is a member?” This will not be a simple answer since the link between headcount and an individual temple and church’s support to BCA has been a methodology that has worked for decades and has supported the operational needs of BCA.  

However, the disincentive perception of building membership that leads to increased dues is real. With declining “paid members” reported from a majority of the temples and churches of the BCA, it will only be accentuated unless there is an intervention.

In the June 2025 National Board meeting, members of the National Board tackled the financial capability priority of the updated strategic plan. 

Brainstorming ideas, the breakout room discussions offered some intriguing options on how to think about re-imagining an approach to support the annual operating expenses of the national organization. Among the ideas were:

• Go to a franchise model that is based on a percentage of revenue and income versus headcount and use the districts versus temples and churches as the basis.

• Diversify and secure other streams of revenue as a supplement to temple and church dues assessments.

• Seek “non-member” revenue.

• Freeze the dues assessments per temple or church with the BCA annual budget in year 0, and increase annually on an agreed-upon percentage over “x” many years.

Increasing the number of supporters and members is an obvious way to build strength at the local temple and church level. Removing the disincentive to increase numbers that increases the financial burden of the local temple/church is the goal. 

In the end, it is BCA’s responsibility to ensure that its actions and efforts align with the needs of members at the local level. Our ability to create value and benefit all who are actively engaged will only be enhanced with increased numbers in the census from local temples and churches. 

While we build strength, we need to realize that the long-term result will be increased revenue. However, we need not be short-sighted in trying to financially balance the need for increased services and programs with an increased membership, and, therefore, increased costs to the temples and churches.  It will take time to realize increased revenues with increased membership, but membership increases are foundational to being able to achieve that financial capability.

Thank you for your input and comments. My inbox is always available at: sterusaki@bcahq.org  I look forward to hearing from you.