Sacramento Dharma Center

We have the keys to our home!

May 20, 2016

Take a long slow deep breath and join with us in celebrating – Sacramento Dharma Center is a physical reality! A building, a large tree shaded yard, room to be and room to grow enriching our own Sanghas and their programs, reaching out to others.

We closed escrow on May 16th and have the keys a month ahead of schedule. This gives us a head start on doing all that needs to happen to meet the city’s occupancy requirements. We anticipate that by the end of August or beginning of September these requirements will be met and our three Sanghas can fully move in. To bring all our programs into the building we have been asked to upgrade bathrooms, parking and sidewalks to current ADA standards, and to document adequate parking arrangements for full occupancy.

Meanwhile, now that 3111 Wissemann’s future as a nurturing home for the Dharma has been secured, we will be setting up a schedule of days and times for you to visit. We suspect that many of you who for six years rode the waves of search and purchase with us will want to step inside soon, knowing it is now ours. We will communicate that schedule to you through email and Sangha e-news.

As always, we are available to talk with you about any aspect of Sacramento Dharma Center’s manifestation, current and future.

And, as always, we are aware and grateful that it is your support and patience that brought us to this happy moment.

With much metta, Susan

Closing in on opening our doors! Can you help?

May 12, 2016

Sacramento Dharma Center’s physical location is rapidly moving from dream to reality – your gift now can put us over the top for our Wissemantn Capital Campaign! A donation now will be doubled by a $5000 Matching Grant, thanks to the generosity of a member of one of our sanghas. What an inspiring beginning we have before us! These final days of the Campaign offer us a chance to share our love of Dharma. Whatever gift is possible for you, whether $30 or $3000, you will know that you helped us reach our goal of $230,000.

To see our thermometer, updated daily, click here!

Every gift matters. Each gift shows the power of sangha, all of us coming together to support each other’s practice, and make the Dharma available to more people in our community. Your generosity creates a foundation of strength and support as the Center opens its doors to serve everyone who seeks to end suffering and practice compassion. To see our thermometer, updated daily, click here.

How will your gift help?

Our number one priority is to move in and to be operational as soon as possible. Donations to the Wissemann Capital Campaign will directly help that happen, as code requirements for accessible bathrooms and walkways, and minor electrical work must be met before our sangha groups assemble there.

Once we learned the owner would not negotiate sharing any of these costs, we obtained the services of experts willing to design-build promptly after we close escrow. We are, with your help, ready to get going on construction of two new ADA-accessible bathrooms and other improvements that will make the Center welcoming to all.

Your gift will also contribute to the establishment of a prudent ten month reserve fund to cover expenses for those emergencies that always seem to happen – within the impermanence of their predictability! Such stability gives us the freedom to focus on practice, rather than make continuous appeals for new needs.

Your gift will also allow preventive maintenance now, instead of deferring expenditures to a likely more expensive future, and will allow the purchase of chairs and other furnishings that will make the building fully functional as a meditation center for everyone.

This is a profound moment of possibility and shared vision among us who love the Dharma. Please savor our community’s support, and join in helping to open the doors of Sacramento Dharma Center.

Donate Now

Closing escrow soon!

May 1, 2016

Everyone involved in the effort to complete the purchase of 3111 Wissemann Drive, our real estate agent Kari Bryski, our lender Bank of the West, Church Mutual Insurance, and Chicago Title are working for us to be able to close escrow by May 20th! Our wonderfully generous community has made this possible. Our hearts are overflowing with gratitude!

Another Milestone!

April 23, 2016

A significant event in the development of Sacramento Dharma Center went without a hitch Thursday evening when our application for our Conditional Use Permit for 3111 Wissemann Drive was passed unanimously by the City Planning Commission. Thanks to the excellent guidance of our multi-tasking real estate agent, Kari Bryski, this was accomplished in record time!

We are now busily planning for the finish line, closing escrow, and preparing for the day when we will cross the threshold together and begin the process of making this building our home and sanctuary! There will be many opportunities to be part of this process, stay tuned.

Oh happy day!

After Commission vote, with Susan Orr, Helen Hobart, Barbara, Colton,

Kari Bryski, Linda Dekker, and Jim Hare.

We're in the Home Stretch!

April 16, 2016

“This is an exciting moment for all of us as we see our collective vision becoming a reality,” said Susan Orr, our president. “If all goes well, we will be able to quickly address immediate concerns and work with all three Sustaining Sanghas to develop the building and grounds so that they are inviting and comfortable for all.”

We are well on the way to raising the funds we need to cover repairs, makes upgrades, and reduce monthly expenses. Our professional inspectors have specified the repairs, code compliance, and upgrading that is needed. And the building is close to meeting the safety and occupancy codes we need to satisfy the City Planning Commission.

“We hired the Ellis Architects firm to provide the code analysis for our City occupancy permit and are delighted that Kari was able to secure a spot on the Planning Commission’s April 21^st agenda,” Susan said. ”This is a full month sooner than we’d hoped for, which means escrow could close as soon as the middle of May.”

The Board has been working with our broker, Kari Bryski, to marshal all the evidence to persuade the seller to reduce the purchase price. The collection of reports and bids is thorough: tree work; HVAC; sewer; roof; pest; electrical; plumbing; overall ADA assessment; ADA compliant restroom construction; ADA compliant walkway redo; general contractor bid for repair of deferred maintenance, etc.

We are also delighted with the robust response from members of all three Founding Sanghas interested in volunteering their talents, such as gardening, at the new center. “We’ve had such a wide-range of talented people express their commitment to creating a functional sacred space,” Susan said. “It’s been positively inspiring.”

This same generosity is fueling the Wissemann Capital Campaign. Our goal has been to raise $230,000 by close of escrow – check our progress here! We are asking friends, neighbors, business associates and of course Sangha members to make one last big push. If you’ve not given to the campaign , we’d like you to consider that this might be the most significant gift any of us will get to make in our lives. What we are creating will benefit generations to come. Now is a powerful moment to make a “stretch gift” that will be of benefit to so many.

Visitors flock to Open House!

March 18, 2016

“At first, we felt so delighted to welcome people to the Open House. But gradually the ones we welcomed became welcomers, and it was just all of us, together, right here!”

Tours, posters asking for creative uses of the space, volunteer sign-ups, an information and donation table, and refreshments engaged the estimated 125 guests who explored the airy space. “”Ohhhh”, exhaled many upon walking into the light-filled room which may become the meditation hall. Sangha leaders Dennis Warren of SIM, Jim Hare of Valley Streams, Joe Countryman of SBMG, and Susan Orr, SDC Board President, each added perspective: the likelihood of many new folks arriving when the Sanghas have a building; the seeds of SDC’s beginnings and organic growth; and the enthusiastic support being offered.

Practicing with the Timeline

Knowing that this escrow period with its multitude of inspections requires due diligence, we are working wholeheartedly to bring the purchase to fruition, while remembering not to count on ownership until escrow closes. It’s all practice! We aim for permit approval from the City Planning Commission possibly as soon as May 12th, and close of escrow on June 15th. And – change happens!

Barn-raising energies arise

Nineteen Volunteer Application forms were filled in at the Open House; many ready to work a couple of hours/week. Thank you! If you’d like a form, or want to discuss volunteering, please contact Helen at hdhobart@gmail.com. The favorites? Fifteen people are ready to dig and plant, and ten each for Spring Cleaning and Painting. Only 2 for Carpentry, and 0 for Plumbing and Electrical work – let us know if you have these skills. As escrow progresses, teams will meet to plan the work, and get ready to roll.

SDC invites your generosity now

All of us seek to move into the building without ongoing burdensome fundraising. Capital gifts now from supporters like you will help reduce monthly expenses by maximizing the down payment, and covering the cost of facility improvements that may be identified as part of our due diligence. We launched the Wissemann Capital Campaign in February and hope to reach our Goal of $230,000 before closing in June. We’re more than half way to our goal! Can you help? Visit our contribute page, and find easy options for you to express your enthusiasm and generosity!

And follow our progress here!

Board changes at our March meeting
Election time!

We thank Joette Sebastiani as she leaves the Board for her dedicated work as a SIM representative, Building Committee chair, and helping in every way possible; she will continue as an active volunteer.

A warm thank you also to SIM representative Brian McKenzie, who leaves the Board to serve as SIM’s Volunteer Coordinator for SDC.

Barbara Colton was newly elected as a SIM representative and will work on the Communication Committee and fundraising.

Julia Mullen was re-elected as a SBMG representative; she continues as Secretary and Vice president, and will step up to chairing the Building Committee.

Linda Dekker was re-elected representing Valley Streams, and will continue on the Executive and Finance/Fundraising committees.

Helen Hobart continues as a SBMG representative, Volunteer Coordinator, and Communications Committee chair.

Susan Orr continues as SDC Board President, serving as an at-large board member, and as an inspiration for all!

John Penfield of Valley Streams continues as Treasurer, joins the Executive Committee, and will chair the Administration, Organization, and Legal Committee.

Bruce Baccei continues as a Valley Streams Zen Sangha representative and works on the Building Committee, his expertise in sustainability, and prior work in the field of architecture guides us in our work.