Donating to Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery
Sustaining Sītavana:
Birken/Sītavana Monastery’s Monthly Giving Circle
Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery, Pali name of Sītavana (Cool Forest Grove), continues to thrive because of the enduring support of countless donors over nearly 30 years. This perpetuating wheel of lay support and the sharing of Dhamma by the Sangha can only continue to turn with regular, sustaining contributions. To that end we’ve created Sustaining Sītavana: Birken/Sītavana Monastery’s Monthly Giving Circle.
If you are a current monthly donor, you’re already part of Sustaining Sītavana (to change your monthly donation amount, just log into your CanadaHelps Donor Account). If you wish to join our circle at the monthly giving levels of Supporter ($30), Benefactor ($150), Patron ($500), or any other amount, please use the donation form on this page or at this link. Your monthly gifts may go to our day-to-day General Giving Fund (see examples of some of those costs below) or our Endowment Fund, providing a sustaining level of commitment that allows us to plan for upcoming needs, as well as provide a welcome level of stability as we continue our work in the world.
Anumodana! We rejoice in your tremendous generosity and great merit.
$552
Yes, $552. That’s what it costs each and every day to keep Birken operating (based on our recent 10 year expense average). What are some of those expenses? Well, imagine you live alone and have to pay your bills. Those include your commute to work, electricity and heating, buying groceries, cleaning supplies, paper products, maintaining your home computer, cell phone and internet plans, paying for your medical visits and new glasses, auto insurance, home repairs and improvements, property taxes and insurance, and all the countless other expenses required to live in our modern world.
Now multiply that by 10 people. That is our core population of monastics and resident stewards who feed us each day and keep the business and technical sides of the monastery running. Now add in another 10 guests and you can see how these costs can climb.
And all of our stewards are here as volunteers. They perform their duties out of a commitment to the sangha with only food and accommodations offered in exchange for their generous services. For the monastics their work is their meditation practice. Their requisites of food, clothing, shelter and medicine must be offered to them as well, each and every day.
Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery (‘Birken’) remains opened solely through the ancient tradition of ‘dāna’ (‘generosity’ or ‘giving’). Generosity is a quality of the heart which the Buddha greatly encouraged for its benefits to the giver in this life and beyond.
Please consider supporting Birken and its important work through a sustaining and dependable Monthly Donation. Here are just a few examples of what your monthly gift can buy:
Endowment Fund
Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery’s Endowment Fund, established in 2021, allows for balanced stability of the monastery well into the future. This endowment fund, which is managed by Nicola Wealth, enables us to use modest interest earnings as a reliable source of ongoing funding for our day-to-day operations. As in major endowment funds for universities, museums, etc., the principal capital fund is to remain secure and increase through donations while a certain percentage of earnings may be used yearly. We welcome this form of sustainability to meet the uncertain and non-profit structures which the monastery relies on.
If you would like to contribute to this fund for long-term benefits to the monastery, one time and monthly donations may be made to Birken utilizing the CanadaHelps donation form, or any of the donation methods described below. Please indicate “ENDOWMENT FUND” on your donation; tax receipts will be issued by Birken, with the exception of donations made through CanadaHelps, which provides tax receipts directly to donors.
If you would like to donate securities in-kind to our Endowment Fund, please contact our bookkeeper (bookkeeper@birken.ca) for more information. We also suggest you consult with your financial advisor or tax professional to confirm that it is a good strategy in your financial situation.
Virtual Dānā Meal Fund
Our Virtual Dānā Meal Fund is an opportunity for families and individuals to make a financial contribution towards Birken’s meal offerings in memory of loved ones without visiting the monastery. The meal will be cooked by resident stewards at the monastery and offered as either breakfast or our mid-day meal on the day of your choosing (subject to date availability). Any portion of your donation that is not spent on your sponsored meal will either be used for a meal at a later date or for general kitchen expenses.
We invite you to fill out our ONLINE FORM to schedule your Virtual Dānā Meal, or see our other ways to give below. You may designate your donation in the name of someone and/or select a preferred date for your dānā meal. If you have a preferred date, your request must be made at least two weeks in advance of your preferred date. Please note your preferred date under your selected donation amount where it says, “Write a private message to us (optional)”. For those requesting a specific date, we will reply within one week to confirm if it is available. Whatever giving method you use, please be sure to note “VIRTUAL DANA MEAL FUND” on your donation.
Should you have any questions about our Virtual Dānā Meal Fund, please email us for more information.
Many Ways to Give
Donate online to our General Giving Fund, Endowment Fund or Virtual Dānā Meal Fund using your credit card or PayPal through CanadaHelps, or through CAF America for U.S. donors (administrative fees will apply). You can also donate Securities and Mutual Funds and Cryptocurrency, and make a tribute in memory of a loved one through CanadaHelps. Simply click on the corresponding photo below.
Donations by cash, cheque or money order can be made at the monastery or sent by post. You may send money directly to our bank account through a secure Interac e-Transfer (email money transfer) from any Canadian financial institution. See below for more information. It is also possible to make non-monetary donations of material goods or labour.
For more information, please feel free to contact our bookkeeper at bookkeeper@birken.ca.
Donations at the Monastery
You can make donations by cash, cheque or money order when visiting Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery. Please write all the required information on your donation envelope, and then insert into the Donation Box located in the main foyer. Also see Tax Receipts information below.
Mail a Cheque or Money Order
You may make cheques or money orders payable to ‘Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery‘ and mail to:
Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery
7000 Smith Lake Forest Srv Rd.
Knutsford, B.C. V0E 2A0
CANADA
Interac e-Transfers
You may send us an Interac e-Transfer (secure email money transfer) from your Canadian online bank account. Please see the instructions below.
CAF America for US Donors
Now U.S. residents can donate to Birken and receive a U.S. tax receipt. CAF America facilitates donations to foreign charities with an 8% administrative fee (minimum of $80)* through their Donor Advised Gifts (DAGs) program. DAGs enable all types of U.S. donors, including individuals, foundations, and corporations, to make single donations as desired. (*Administrative fee is deducted from the donation amount sent to Birken, yet CAF America provides donors with a tax receipt for the full amount of all donations.)
Please see their Donor Advised Gifts form for further information. If you would like to donate to Birken through CAF America, just click on the button below.
Tax Receipts
Financial donations to the monastery are tax deductible in Canada and may be eligible for a Canadian tax receipt.
Please note: Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery (‘Birken’) has an offsite bookkeeper who is responsible for processing all donations and issuing tax receipts. If you reside in Canada and would like to request a tax receipt, you must provide your full name, residential address (including postal code), and email address with each donation. Our bookkeeper does not have access to Birken’s contact database.
Learn more about Tax Receipts...
AS OF JANUARY 1, 2024: While charities are under no legal obligation to issue tax receipts, we are pleased to do so for a minimum $100.00 cumulative yearly donation if we receive all the required information referenced above for each of your donations. If we do not receive this information at the time of your donation, it will be assumed that you do not require a tax receipt.
Please note that CanadaHelps issues tax receipts immediately to each Canadian donor regardless of the amount of donation; we urge you to use this convenient donation platform as it saves the monastery time and money in volunteer efforts and bookkeeping expenditures. You will not receive an additional tax receipt from Birken if you use CanadaHelps.
If you donate electronically by wire transfer or through Interac email transfer (use our bookkeeper@birken.ca email address for your Interac transactions), please be sure to provide us with the required information mentioned above with each donation – you can email this information to bookkeeper@birken.ca.
Birken will issue one cumulative tax receipt per donor for the calendar year. Tax receipts will be issued electronically by email no later than February 28th of the calendar year that follows the year of the donation. We will no longer provide paper tax receipts. Please note that we cannot issue tax receipts retroactively for donations made during previous calendar years.
Throughout the year, there are many individuals who donate anonymously or request not to receive tax receipts for their donations. The Birken community expresses its gratitude to these individuals for their generosity and rejoices in their good merit.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the issuance of tax receipts, please email bookkeeper@birken.ca. Anumodana! We rejoice in your generosity and great merit.
Anumodana to our many supporters – we rejoice in your generosity and great merit!
Charitable Status: The monastery is a registered Canadian charitable society.
Official Name: “Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery”. Registered Charity No.: BN 89263 5483 RR0001.
bookkeeper@birken.ca
Support the Monastery
Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery is a registered Canadian charitable society and is supported entirely by donations or ‘dāna’ (generosity). All teachings, accommodations, and meals are offered free of charge. It is left to the good will and discretion of visitors and well-wishers to decide how they might support the work of the monastery.
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Mailing Address:
Birken Forest Buddhist Monastery
7000 Smith Lake Forest Srv Rd.
Knutsford, BC | V0E 2A0 | Canada