1. What is the Mission of the Tibetan Community Center of Northern California (TCCNC)?
2. Why does the Bay Area Tibetan community need a community center?
3. What kinds of programs will the Center offer?
4. How will the Center benefit the greater Bay Area community?
5. Aren't there enough dharma centers and Tibet support groups in the Bay Area already?
6. Is the Center part of the Tibetan Association of Northern California or is it a separate organization?
7. Who is in charge of the campaign to establish the Center and are they paid?
8. How much money is needed for the TCCNC, and how long will it take to raise it?
9. What kind of a space are you looking for and where?
10. How much money has been raised so far?
11. How do I donate?
12. If I donate, how do I know my money will go directly to the Center?
13. I've heard that most of the money will come from big foundations, so my small donation is not that important, right?
14. I would like to volunteer. What areas does the TCCNC Core Working Group most need help in, and how do I contact the TCCNC Core Working Group about volunteering?

What is the Mission of the Tibetan Community Center of Northern California (TCCNC)?
The mission of the Tibetan Community Center of Northern California (TCCNC) is to empower Tibetan-Americans of all ages to thrive in the United States, while promoting the continuity and development of Tibetan social, cultural, and artistic traditions. The TCCNC will be a refuge for Tibetans in exile, and a gateway to the living culture of Tibet for the Bay Area community at large. The Center will provide a mixture of social services and educational, recreational, and cultural programming to the Tibetan and Bay Area communities.

Why does the Bay Area Tibetan community need a community center?
Over the last 15 years, the Tibetan community has undergone exponential growth in the San Francisco Bay Area. From only a handful in the 1980's, the community is now estimated to be 1,500, with many more new arrivals expected in the coming years due to the deteriorating political conditions for Tibetan refugees in Nepal, the increased numbers of Tibetans fleeing Tibet for Nepal and India, and other factors.

There are two core areas of need for the Bay Area Tibetan Community that a community center would address. First, there is a lack of social, educational, and vocational services that are specifically targeted to meet the needs of the Tibetan community. The most pronounced lack is in programs addressing the needs of elderly Tibetans with little to no knowledge of English, and those targeting middle school and high school-aged Tibetan youth. Whether it is providing a space for elderly Tibetans to spend the day, worship, and get a hot meal, or in providing classes in Tibetan language and culture for young Tibetans, the shear number of Tibetans requiring services make it impossible for community members to keep doing these kinds of activities without the support of a formal facility.

Second, on the level of culture, Bay Area Tibetans, like Tibetans everywhere, are engaged in a larger struggle to save their culture from the very real threat of extinction. From the lack of access many Tibetans inside Tibet have to classes that teach Tibetan history and language, to the continued, well-documented attack on Tibetan Buddhism and its institutions by the Chinese government, His Holiness the Dalai Lama's phrase - "cultural genocide" - accurately summarizes what the International Commission of Jurists, officials of foreign governments and numerous non-governmental organizations have found in Chinese-occupied Tibet.

In response to this situation, Tibetans in exile have, over the last half-century, set themselves the enormous task of preserving their cultural traditions, religion, and language in the diaspora.

The TCCNC is certainly a part of this effort, but many Bay Area Tibetans emphasize that the planned Center is as much about developing a culture as it is about preserving one. With many Tibetans being born in the United States, it is critical that we create conditions in which this population of young people can excel and develop as well rounded people in this society. This means nourishing their Tibetan roots, but it also means providing them with the social and educational tools necessary to succeed in this country. At the heart of the mission of the TCCNC is that, if we as a community put in sufficient effort and gather sufficient resources, this effort will enable the next generation to balance a deep understanding of their Tibetan identity with a rich and engaged life in the United States.

We are at a point in history where the number of Tibetans in the Bay Area, the energy in the Tibetan community, and the longstanding interest of the Bay Area community in Tibetan culture, can combine to create a truly unique community space - a permanent home to a living culture. We must not waste it.

What kinds of programs will the Center offer?
The TCCNC executive committee is currently in engaged in a community needs assessment to determine which programs should be prioritized within the Center. We have already had one large town hall meeting with the community, and more are planned in the remainder of 2006. We predict, based on our experience of organizing Tibetan community events over the last decade that the following programs will likely be included (for a fuller description of these programs, visit About the Center):

• Training Program in the Tibetan Performing Arts
• Classes in Tibetan Language
• After School Care and Programs
• Care of Tibetan elders
• Program to Assist New Arrivals
• The Center as a Hub for all Things Tibetan

How will the Center benefit the greater Bay Area community?
Enshrined in the charter of the TCCC is the notion that the Tibetan community will actively give back to the greater Bay Area community the generosity that has been showed to it.

The San Francisco Bay Area has long been a strong zone of support for Tibet. With one of the largest concentrations of Buddhist practitioners in the West, as well as key educational and artistic institutions that have pioneered the introduction of Tibetan religion and culture to the United States, it is obvious that Bay Area communities are well positioned to take advantage of the programming at the TCCNC.

Having a developed outreach program to non-Tibetans will be a priority of the center from the beginning. This program will include a year-round calendar of events that gives non-Tibetans in depth exposure to the various aspects of the Tibetan tradition. Non-Tibetans will have access to courses and workshops taught by Tibetan Buddhist teachers, introductory classes in the Tibetan visual and performing arts, and even classes in Tibetan cooking.

As a refugee committee, we are particularly interested in reaching out to and including other communities in the Bay Area that have suffered displacement from their homeland as the result of armed conflict or other hardships. With one of the highest concentrations of refugees and asylees in the U.S., there are limitless opportunities for us to explore our common bonds through events and gatherings. This especially pertains to the numerous other Asian Buddhist communities represented in the Bay Area.

Aren't there enough dharma centers and Tibet support groups in the Bay Area already?
While it is true that the Bay Area is home to several organizations that either support the effort to change the political situation in Tibet, or raise money for health care, education and vocational training programs inside Tibet, there is currently no common, multi-purpose, communal space for the sizable population of Tibetans in the Bay Area.

Study after study of refugee and immigrant communities suggests that, for activities like ESL classes, elderly care programs and after-school programs to be effective, they are best administered within the communities themselves - not by large, outside agencies. In this spirit, we believe that a comparatively minimal investment of resources in a communal space for Tibetans will result in many more opportunities for learning, enrichment, and growth than would otherwise be available.

On the level of Tibetan Buddhist institutions, it is true that the Bay Area is home to a large number of Tibetan Buddhist practitioners and teachers. However, out of the millions of dollars that are raised for Tibetan Buddhist centers and programming in the Bay Area, almost none of it goes to support the practice of indigenous Tibetans - a practice which is often distinct from the forms of Tibetan Buddhism being taught in the West.

While the primary function of the Center will not be religious, it is nonetheless a priority to create a space for worship, prayer, and meditation - particularly for Tibetan elders. We strongly believe that Bay Area Buddhists will see the value and need for such a space and contribute to the Center to make it a reality.

Is the Center part of the Tibetan Association of Northern California or is it a separate organization?
The TCCNC is a fiscally sponsored project of the Tibetan Association of Northern California (TANC) - a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization which organizes a variety of educational and cultural activities for Tibetans in the Bay Area. While it may become necessary for the community to revaluate whether the TCCNC becomes a stand-alone nonprofit at a later point, the current feeling is that it is appropriate to keep it within the TANC organizational structure during the capital campaign phase of the project.

Who is in charge of the campaign to establish the Center and are they paid?
In November 2005, the TANC Board of Directors convened a meeting of Tibetan community leaders and several long time supporters of Tibet in the Bay Area to formulate a plan for creating a community center.

The result was the formation of the TCCNC Core Working Group - a six person team who committed to putting consistent time and effort into the project on a weekly basis with frequent meetings, especially during the initial stages of the project. The idea was to create a project group that was task-oriented and that could map out concrete steps and attract the talent necessary to execute the project, not to create a group that would make all the key decisions. The vision for, and key decisions around, the Center will come from the community itself. Ascertaining the needs of the community is one of the principal tasks of the Core Working Group in year one of the project

The Core Working Group coordinates all major decision making, and approves all major expenditures, with the TANC board - principally via bi-monthly meetings on the progress of the Capital Campaign.

How much money is needed for the TCCNC, and how long will it take to raise it?
Our goal for the TCCNC capital campaign is to raise $3.5 million over three years.

Even if we meet this goal, it is still likely that we will need to seek additional loans and financing. The exact mixture of up front money with other financing is dependant on a number of factors, including the municipality the building is in and how much re-design and renovation are required to make the space workable.

Moreover, we acknowledge that even if we meet our immediate fundraising goals, there is still a considerable amount of planning and work needed to ensure that the Center is sustainable over the long term. Most community centers have income generating activities, and the TCCNC will be no exception.

What kind of a space are you looking for?
In terms of spatial requirements, our initial assessment indicates that, ideally, we would come out of the process with a small to medium-sized performance and rehearsal area, a space for food preparation, a shrine and worship area, 2-3 class rooms, a recreation area for young people and office space for the Tibetan Association of Northern California and other nonprofit Tibet support groups in the Bay Area.

This initial space assessment may adjust, principally because we are aware of the importance of location to any successful center, and that we may have to compromise on certain aspects of the space in an effort to have the Center centrally located near large clusters of Tibetans. This means that the Center will almost definitely be in the East Bay, and probably somewhere in between Oakland and Richmond.

How much money has been raised so far?
You can go to the TCCNC Financial Statements page of our website to get monthly updates on the money that has been raised and where we are in relation to our capital campaign goals.

How do I donate?
There are a variety of ways to contribute financially to the Center, including a one time donation, monthly giving, gifts of stock, and planned giving. We encourage you to visit the donation page of our website for details on all these options.

The Tibetan Association of Northern California (TANC)
2288 Fulton Street, Suite 312
Berkeley, CA 94704
Attn: Community Center Capital Campaign

TANC is a 501(c)3 organization and all contributions to the Center are fully tax deductible. Your money will go straight into a bank account reserved for community center fundraising, and will contribute directly to the hard costs associated with the project. With massive volunteer and pro bono support, the overhead for the campaign is extremely low.

If I donate, how do I know my money will go directly to the Center?
The TCCNC has a formal accounting system and a completely separate bank account from other TANC activities.

We regularly publish our financial statements, including how much money we have raise over a certain period and from whom, to ensure maximum transparency and trust from the community. We promptly issue donation acknowledgement letters and keep meticulous records of capital campaign donations in a safe and secure place. As more revenue begins to be generated, the TCCNC will likely self-audit to prove to our funders that we are using their money responsibly.

I've heard that most of the money will come from big foundations, so my small donation is not that important, right?
Wrong. Even if the Center receives money from foundations, the single most important factor in succeeding in getting a community center is buy-in from the people who care about it and are going to use it. Major donors and foundations want to see the Tibetan community and their supporters give whatever they can - even if the donation is symbolic - in order to show that this project is really a priority and that we're serious.

I would like to volunteer. What areas does the TCCNC Core Working Group most need help in, and how do I contact the TCCNC Core Working Group about volunteering?

The TCCNC is currently seeking volunteers in a variety of areas:

Fundraising. Whether you have experience raising funds for community-based projects, or are simply committed to the Tibetan cause and would like to do what you can to support the TCCNC effort, we encourage you to get involved in a more formal way with fundraising for the capital campaign.

Your involvement can mean committing to doing a small dinner or house party with your friends and family, to organizing a larger event with the help of the TCCNC Core Working Group, to cultivating potential donors within your network, to raising awareness about the need for the Center in your community and with other organizations with which you are involved. The TCCNC Core Working Group is in the process of producing a short film about the Bay Area Tibetan community and the need for a community center which will make introducing the project easier.

Please contact us at fundraising@tccnc.net if you would like to join the TCCNC fundraising team. Real Estate. Because real estate represents the bulk of our expenses for the TCCNC, we are actively seeking realtors, real estate investors, and other experts who can provide us with advice, guidance, and leads on real estate opportunities in the Bay Area.

We are particularly interested in people with knowledge of, and connections to, real estate opportunities in the cities of Richmond, El Cerrito, Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, and North Oakland.

Lastly, we know of several community centers that have had either the land or the actual community center building donated or sold to them at well below market rate. Obviously we are interested in any opportunities of this sort, as it would allow significantly more of the capital campaign money to go to programming and long term sustainability.

Architecture & Spatial Design. Even the most ideal space will likely require some renovation and redesign, and we are looking for designers and architects - particularly those with expertise working on community centers and other multi-use spaces - who can advise us and possibly take charge of the renovation and redesign effort after the property is acquired.

Administration. Any nonprofit project of this size generates a large amount of administrative work, including generating donor thank you's, filing, paying bills, responding to general inquiries, helping to organize events, maintaining the database and working with vendors.

If you have good attention to detail and can commit to putting in a small amount of time per week, we definitely have tasks for you! People who have administrative and/or office management backgrounds are particularly encouraged to volunteer.