Recession affects us all. Not only individuals, but organisations. Some charities, some communities, some retreat centres, will go bust. Sad but true. "What about Othona?" you may wonder.

Strange to say, I believe we can emerge from this recession healthier than before, with some exhilarating new opportunities. But it'll be quite tough to do that. And there are no guarantees. I'll try to explain, because if you're reading this you presumably care that Othona does survive. So I'll start with the basics this time and delve a bit deeper in subsequent months.

Strengths and Snags

We have two big strengths, but two big snags. First on the plus side, Othona has some assets in the form of land; our trustees have just sold a house in Essex to ease the community's cash flow difficulties. Our second plus is that so many people who come here, whether for a family holiday or an intensive workshop, to retreat or to volunteer, simply love what they find. The kind of experience this community makes possible for people is a veritable treasure.

Our snags mirror those strengths, really. We have cash flow difficulties - both here and at Othona Bradwell - because for decades we have not covered all our real costs (relying on those aforementioned assets instead to bail us out).

In effect - mostly without realising it - we've let others subsidise us. We've let our predecessors pay - the Othona members who helped buy land assets years ago. We've let our successors pay - those who (we hope) will eventually patch up the buildings we've not maintained quite as well as we should have. And, dare I say, we've let our core members and volunteer helpers pay - by cheerfully working for sacrificial wages or nothing at all. (Nothing wrong with the volunteer spirit, of course. But have they carried too much weight or worked without proper resources?)

As a visitor you may not have known this. Why should you? You've paid what you were asked to, maybe donated a bit more (or a lot more). And certainly in recent years those of us running the budgets have done our utmost to get things right, to raise the income we really need. That's why this year, again, we've thought it right to raise our prices a bit, even at a time when we know money is tight. (We keep on offering generous concessions and bursaries, need I add.)

The trouble is, too often we've been optimistic about bookings which never quite materialised. And the key to turning all this around does lie in bookings. If we had an average of just two more visitors per event throughout the coming year our deficit would disappear. That sounds achievable, doesn't it? (And the good news: early signs suggest we're on our way.)

A well-kept secret?

Which brings me to the second snag. We've been none too clever at advertising what we offer. We're still a bit of a 'well-kept secret' with a niggardly publicity budget. This website is helping, of course (I'll say more about that another time). But there's much more that we - and the whole Othona network of supporters - can do in future.

A simple illustration: we're about to put up a set of decent clear signs by the roadside, something I've meant to do for years and (you guessed it) never quite found time for... till now. Not only will they help first time visitors to find us; they'll also give the thousands of people who drive past each week an idea of what this place is.

We're also busy designing an attractive 'give-away' leaflet about what we offer. The sort of thing you might like to leave a heap of in your local church, library, community hall... wherever you think it's likely to be seen by people Othona will appeal to. Or better still, give it to an interested friend, because you value Othona. Word-of-mouth is still the most powerful publicity, but it's even better backed up with appropriate 'bumf'.

Encouragements

I hope you find developments like this encouraging. I hope you'll feel included in them and give them your support. Reality - including financial reality - is ultimately our friend.

A penultimate thought. The world's banking systems became addicted to greed, pretence and wishful thinking and they have affected us all. Now as we struggle to break those bad habits, how many people are looking afresh to values that transcend the purely material? If so, more than ever, a body like Othona has its part to play.  

There's lots more to say about how we can emerge from recession healthier, but I'll save it for subsequent months. In the meantime, vote for Othona's survival and thrival (it ought to be a word) with your feet. Book up to come and see us soon... and tell your friends!