Dear friends,
In our capacities as Chair of the board of Tail of the Tiger and the Executive Director of Karmê Chöling, we are writing to let you know of changes affecting Tail of the Tiger, the educational organization that aims to take mindfulness meditation and related contemplative disciplines to professionals of all kinds. Tail of the Tiger began offering programs in 2004 at the suggestion of the Sakyong, Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche, and obtained its 501(c)(3) determination letter from the IRS in 2007.
This past weekend the Karmê Chöling Council, in reviewing past, present and future finances, decided to focus resources on its core mission and, as a consequence, will end, as of January 1, 2012, the financial and service support Karmê Chöling has been providing Tail of the Tiger.
To assist Tail of the Tiger in transitioning to financial independence, the Karmê Chöling council has offered to provide net revenues from Tail of the Tiger programs already scheduled or scheduled by January 1 (except for qi gong programs hosted at Karmê Chöling) for the period from January 1 - June 4, 2012. During that period, Karmê Chöling will also continue providing administrative and accounting services.
An immediate consequence of this decision is the responsibility of the Tail of the Tiger board to find the funds to sustain Tail of the Tiger and in particular its Executive Director, Patton Hyman. The Tail of the Tiger board met this week and decided to allocate the organization's remaining available funds to provide Patton with his current level of salary for the next two and a half months (including health insurance). The board is examining other resources that may be available to help Tail of the Tiger through this period.
We are appreciative of what Tail of the Tiger has accomplished, in particular the pioneering work that Patton and his colleagues have done in introducing meditation under the rubric of Applied Mindfulness to professionals, artists and the public. We support Tail of the Tiger as it goes forward, building a business plan to provide a fresh basis for its work and securing the funding that will enable it to establish a sustainable future offering the powerful tools our tradition provides to an ever wider audience.
Richard Reoch, Chair, Tail of the Tiger board
Jane Arthur, Executive Director, Karmê Chöling
