FULL VERSION

Since year 2000, Oneness Project has awarded nearly a $1 million worldwide to support development of the Dances of Universal Peace worldwide. This money assisted training of Dance leaders, supported a wide variety of projects to build the Dances, helped start new DUP camps and retreats, supplemented senior teacher travel and honoraria, purchased Dance tents, furthered the international Dance network, provided scholarships, and more. You may view a statistical report of the grants Oneness has awarded and where it happened here.

Fund Losses

Through granting and spending only from the investment earnings each year rather than spending our principal, Oneness was able to build a sizeable investment portfolio. Until 2008 our equity continued to grow each year, allowing us to support the Dances of Universal Peace in an ever-increasing way. Many of you are now aware that this picture has dramatically changed. Oneness Project suffered major financial losses due to the collapse of the Bernard Madoff investment firm in December.

OP’s investments, set up in 1996 by Narayan Eric Waldman at the time of Oneness Project’s founding, have been held until recently in Dancing $ LLC, a limited liability investor partnership. Dancing $ made excellent returns to Oneness over the years and Dancing $ investors also made annual contributions to Oneness Project. Narayan remained the fund manager of Dancing $ throughout its history and Oneness has been delighted throughout to have Narayan skillfully managing our investment portfolio.

In late 2007 Narayan began closing the Dancing $ LLC fund and created the new Elendow Fund. In November 2007 the Oneness board transferred a major portion of Oneness Project’s assets to the new Elendow Fund. A small percentage of our capital remained in Dancing $, as it is invested in illiquid real estate holdings. In December 2008 the Elendow Fund was approximately 89% invested with Bernard Madoff’s firm. The Madoff fraud erased approximately 75% of OP’s total investment holdings. Sadly, we also learned in early 2009 that approximately one-third of Oneness Project’s remaining Elendow Investment was hit by a second apparent fraud with the arrest of Art Nadel, a hedge fund manager in Sarasota, Florida. This 2nd fraud resulted in OP’s remaining Elendow investment balance being reduced by another 30%.

Where Do Our Finances Stand Now?

Approximately 2/3 of Oneness Project’s remaining principal is invested in real estate holdings and will likely not become liquid for us to reinvest for years to come. We expect that these real estate investments will eventually become liquid as the economy improves over the next five to seven years. We requested redemption of the remaining Elendow funds and hope this will be returned to us in installments throughout this year and into 2010. Of necessity, our much-reduced activities will be funded by these anticipated returns of our principal. Current income earned from our investments is negligible. Spending down our principal, of course, is not sustainable over time.

In addition to our fund investments, Oneness also holds equity in the Common Ground Center in Hamilton, Montana. The Oneness board is taking steps to rent the Center out in order to produce revenue toward our operating expenses.

Where Do We Go From Here?

The Oneness Project Board of Directors met in mid-January, 2009 to consider the impact of these losses and attempt to find a way forward. As you may already know, we have suspended all granting programs indefinitely. Necessarily, our plans must be very tentative, especially until we see how our investments actually become liquid and we are able to reinvest the funds. We have tentatively agreed to the following goals.

Support the Unity Council in developing the best organizational way forward to support the international Dance network. We feel the two years of work in this direction must not be lost and that OP’s future is intertwined with that of PeaceWorks and the Mentor Teachers Guild. Working together we can find the best use of OP’s remaining resources into the future.

Support the MTG in completing revision of the certification guidelines and other important work. The MTG must continue to set the standard for deeper dance leading. OP has made a donation and will support the 2009 MTG Guidance Council telecoms.

Assist with redesign of the INDUP website. OP has proposed that PeaceWorks INDUP and OP jointly support a redesign and upgrade of the international DUP site in 2009. Discussions about this are underway.

Present the April Lava Hot Springs DUP retreat and Wilderness Dance Camp in Montana in July. The OP board felt that given the impact of the fraud losses to OP and to many individuals in our family and Sufi Ruhaniat International that going forward with these long-standing DUP events on a break-even budget basis in 2009 will be a way to affirm our unity in the Dances and help our community remain strong in these difficult times.

Publish a 2009 Oneness Connection newsletter to bring closure to OP’s work to date and invite our friends to co-create with us a new future. We plan to have this out in February, 2009.

What about the OP Staff?

Oneness Executive Director Munir Peter Reynolds and Program Manager Shahar Solander will each continue to work about one day per week in 2009. Munir will support international DUP development and Shahar will manage OP events. DLT Administrator Nuria Lee and Media Office Director Michael Sheehan are completing their work for OP at this time and will be leaving our employ. We extend our sincere thanks to Nuria and Michael for the outstanding jobs that have done and wish them success in their future endeavors.

Can You Help Support This Plan?

Oneness Project’s mission has been to support communities to come together in the Dances of Universal Peace. We encourage all of you to continue this blessing of unity by DANCING, leading the Dances, and supporting the Dances in your area.

Oneness Project also needs your support at this time! We currently have no sources of income, other than the rental of Common Ground Center. If you or your dance circle would like to support Oneness as we regroup and re-tool for the future, you can send your contribution to Oneness Project, P.O. Box 1141, Hamilton, MT 59840 or visit here to make your contribution on-line. Many individuals have contacted us in the last two months wanting to know how they can help. If you or your dance circle has received support from Oneness Project in the past, we ask you to consider making a donation or holding a special dance with proceeds going to us. All contributions are federally tax-deductible. We offer our sincere gratitude to those of you that have already sent contributions and offered support.

Samuel Lewis provided the "seeds" by originating the Dances, and we at Oneness have been honored to help you spread them around the world We see that all of us together have these "fertile fields", already seeded, to nurture and tend as we move into this new time.

Thanks and best wishes for your work with the Dances of Universal Peace.

Oneness Project Board of Directors,

Phil Notermann, Chair

Linda Lindsay, Vice Chair

Tony Rasch, Treasurer

Steve Gray, Director