Friends of FPMT FAQ

Details

Published on January 14, 2011

Friends of FPMT FAQ

What is Friends of FPMT

Q. What does my Friends of FPMT donation pay for?

A. As a Friend of FPMT, you are part of a worldwide donor program composed of students and friends working together to support FPMT’s global activities. Friends of FPMT provides reliable funding for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s International Office, allowing us to continue to serve our centers and students.

Q. Why did you change the name from FPMT Foundation Membership to Friends of FPMT?

A. We found the term “membership” was confusing for some students and staff already affiliated with one of FPMT’s 150+ centers, projects or services. We received questions such as, “I attend classes at my local FPMT center, doesn’t that already make me a member of FPMT?” To avoid confusion we decided to change the name of our program so it is clear that membership to Friends of FPMT is different than membership to the greater organization.

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Friends Registration and Billing

Q. How do I sign up to be a Friend of FPMT?

A. Thank you for your interest! The easiest way to sign up is to visit us online at http://www.fpmt.org/friends/levels.html

You are also welcome to email us or give us a call at friends@fpmt.org, (503) 808-1592. Friends of FPMT forms can be mailed to: FPMT International Office, 1632 SE 11th Avenue, Portland, OR 97214, USA.

Q. Does my donation reoccur every year or will I be contacted about renewing?

A. Your Friends of FPMT donation can be set up in a variety of ways to suit your preference. We recommend recurring donations which are paid on a monthly or quarterly basis; these can be automatically deducted from a checking account or paid by a credit card number we have on file. This is an easy and effective way to support us with little effort on your end.

Friends of FPMT is also offered annually which can be paid by check, credit card, or money transfer. We will contact you at the end of your member year with renewal information. If you are a recurring member, your membership will automatically renew until you cancel (and you can cancel at anytime).

Q. Do I have to wait to be contacted or can I renew at any time?

A. You are welcome to renew at any time. If you’d like to do so now, please visit http://www.fpmt.org/friends/levels.html or contact us at friends@fpmt.org, (503) 808-1592.

Q. Will my contact or email information be shared with other organizations?

A. No, your contact information is kept private within the FPMT organization. We do not share or rent information. 

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Friends Membership VS Center Membership

Q. I have a membership to my local FPMT center. Does that mean I am also a Friend of FPMT?

A. Friends of FPMT is separate from your center membership. Friends of FPMT supports FPMT’s global outreach in the areas of education, center service and support, and charitable projects. Your local center membership directly sustains that center and any initiatives they sponsor.

Some centers offer Friends of FPMT as part of their center member benefits package. If you are not sure if this is included in your center membership, please check with your center. If it is not, we invite you to become a Friend of FPMT today!

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Friends of FPMT Benefits

Q. I just signed up. Will I receive a membership card?

A. At this time, Friends of FPMT does not come with a membership card.
 
Q. What if I already have a Mandala Magazine subscription?

A. If you have been receiving (or formerly received) Mandala as an individual subscriber and wish to continue to receive it, you can now only do so via the Friends of FPMT program. This will allow you to stay connected to Mandala and will bring you additional exciting benefits, such as online resources and educational opportunities.

One exception to this is that some readers receive Mandala Magazine as a benefit of belonging to an FPMT center. If you receive Mandala because of your center membership, this means you are already a Friend of FPMT.

Q. I enrolled as a member but haven’t received the latest Mandala, why?

A. Mandala is dependent upon a printing schedule and you may have enrolled just after the current issue was mailed. For example, if you enrolled in October, the Oct/Nov/Dec 2008 would have already been sent out and your first issue would begin with the Jan/Feb/March 2009 issue. Please contact friends@fpmt.org if you have questions about receiving the current or any past issues.

Another possibility is that you changed your address and didn’t notify us. In that case, your magazine was returned. Please be sure to let us know if your address changes.

It’s always best to check first with your postal carrier/service to see if they can offer any information about the delivery of your Mandala. In some parts of the world, mail service can encounter significant delays which are unfortunately out of our control.

Q. Why do you offer a price range for each Friends of FPMT level? Wouldn’t everyone just choose the lesser amount?

Friends of FPMT is a donor program for those wishing to support FPMT’s worldwide activity. We offer a price range to accommodate any budget, if people feel they can offer more than the base price for the same benefits, we’re happy to put their money to excellent use. Every dollar we receive directly supports Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s work to help all living beings.

Q. I was previously offered a discount to the Foundation Store with my FPMT Foundation Membership. When you changed the name to Friends of FPMT you withdrew the Foundation Store discount. Why?

A. We found it administratively difficult managing the discount codes necessary to offer a discount at the Foundation Store. About 40% of our customer service questions involved questions about the discount codes. We’re a very small staff and felt this wasn’t the best use of your dollars to offer this particular benefit. Instead, we can use our resources to maintain and develop the core benefits of Mandala Publications and the Online Learning Center.

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What is the FPMT Online Learning Center

Details

Published on January 14, 2011

What is the FPMT Online Learning Center?

Perhaps you’ve studied Buddhism for years in a town with no Buddhist center and feel you have no one to talk to about progressing on the path. Maybe you already participate in online social forums and would love to do so with a spiritual community. Or perhaps a question arises at 3:00 a.m. that needs an answer ASAP. Launched in spring 2009, the FPMT Online Learning Center provides an enormous opportunity for students to learn who, for whatever reasons, are unable to study onsite at a center but still want to benefit from the comprehensive programs developed by FPMT Education Services.

Even for those who already belong to a center, the Online Learning Center may offer additional connection and resources. Not only does this new forum cater to a growing number of people attracted to studying from the comfort of home, but also to a younger generation raised on Internet technologies.

Discovering Buddhism, FPMT’s first education program to be adapted to an online format, takes advantage of online forums, allowing individuals to communicate with teachers and fellow students. This is particularly useful for people who live isolated from other practicing Buddhists. Additionally, the forums also allow students to ask technical questions in case any problems with accessing content should arise.

Furthermore, the online format allows the program to effectively utilize video and audio, providing opportunities for more types of learners to feel engaged with the material. And by inter-linking to other resources, students of online courses have easier access to all the relevant and related materials on other FPMT-affiliated websites without the hassle of researching for the materials themselves.

By providing materials through the Online Learning Center, FPMT can also provide continuously updated materials to students quickly, easily and inexpensively, eliminating the need for students themselves to necessarily own and store hardcopy versions.

Visit the Online Learning Center

There are two ways to take advantage of this new online opportunity:

1. You can purchase individual modules of the programs at the Foundation Store. Choose the “online” version of your selected module.

2. You can gain access to the Online Learning Center, at various levels of involvement, by becoming a Friend of FPMT. Most Friends of FPMT levels also include a year’s subscription to Mandala Publications, which includes both print and online content.

In celebration of FPMT Education Services’ first adaptation of an education program to the Internet, the second module of Discovering Buddhism, “How to Meditate,” is being offered for free. For details, please visit http://onlinelearning.fpmt.org/

Friends of FPMT Benefiting Centers

Details

Published on January 14, 2011

How does Friends of FPMT benefit FPMT centers worldwide?

Friends of FPMT is much more than just a subscription to a magazine or access to an online learning center. The aim of Friends of FPMT is to support the efforts of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s International Office, allowing us to continue to serve our centers and students through:

• Developing innovative education programs including the newly launched FPMT Online Learning Center
• Publishing educational books, practice materials and study courses in a variety of languages, under the advice of Rinpoche
• Publishing Mandala magazine and online articles which include stories and news from FPMT sites around the world aimed at providing a sense of community and cohesion amongst students and supporters
• Supporting the 160 (and growing!) FPMT centers, projects, services and study groups around the world
• Providing administrative and financial structure for the incredible charitable projects, education funds, holy object initiatives, health care activities and animal liberations  which give FPMT an excellent global reputation
• Establishing relationships between FPMT centers and qualified geshes and translators
• Handling all of Rinpoche’s correspondence with students, many of whom are students at FPMT centers
• Maintaining Rinpoche’s teaching schedule which allows centers and students continuous access to our precious spiritual director
• Providing centers and their supporters with Rinpoche’s latest advice and updates through the FPMT News

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What is Friends of FPMT

Details

Published on January 14, 2011

What is Friends of FPMT?

Friends of FPMT is a donor program composed of students and friends working together to support FPMT’s global activities. Friends of FPMT provides reliable funding for Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s International Office, allowing us to continue to serve our centers and students through:

• Developing innovative education programs including the newly launched FPMT Online Learning Center
• Publishing educational books, practice materials and study courses in a variety of languages, under the advice of Rinpoche
• Publishing Mandala magazine and online articles which include stories and news from FPMT sites around the world aimed at providing a sense of community and cohesion amongst students and supporters
• Supporting the 160 (and growing!) FPMT centers, projects and services and study groups around the world
• Providing administrative and financial structure for the incredible charitable projects, education funds, holy object initiatives, health care activities and animal liberations  which give FPMT an excellent global reputation
• Establishing relationships between FPMT centers and qualified geshes and translators
• Handling all of Rinpoche’s correspondence with students, many of whom are students at FPMT centers
• Maintaining Rinpoche’s teaching schedule which allows centers and students continuous access to our precious spiritual director
• Providing centers and their supporters with Rinpoche’s latest advice and updates through the FPMT eNews

Friends of FPMT

Details

Published on January 13, 2011

Friends of FPMT is a membership-based program created for those who want to directly engage in and become a part of the FPMT community of supporters.  As a Friend of FPMT, you will be able to enhance your Dharma education through courses on the Online Learning Center and by receiving advice through monthly newsletters.  If you choose a paid membership, you will also receive a subscription to our quarterly publication, Mandala.

FPMT Membership Free FPMT eNews (an electronic newsletter), access to free courses on FPMT’s Online Learning Center, plus links to other free resources

FPMT Basic Friendship ($5-$25) per month Above plus one-year subscription to Mandala Publications

FPMT Dharma Supporter ($30-$99) per month Above plus complete access to FPMT's Online Learning Center

FPMT Patron $100 per month and above Above plus special yearly Patron Puja

Sangha $30 per year Are you an ordained Sangha member?

International $30 per year Do you live in a country with low to medium international currency exchange rates?

Gift Membership All levels Would you like to give the gift of Friends of FPMT? Click here to give Friends to your friends!

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