HISTORY, STRUCTURE & GOVERNANCE​
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The name “Susila Dharma” originates from Sanskrit words and may be understood as meaning being ‘guided from within to take action in the world’. The work of Susila Dharma Britain originates from an awareness of a common humanity that transcends differences of race and culture. The intention behind Susila Dharma is to support people to live and work in harmony in their quest for a just and sustainable society. The focus of Susila Dharma Britain is on people and relationships, and a belief in the ability of a person to reach their full potential — socially, economically and spiritually. How we work with others is as important to us as what we achieve.
History
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Susila Dharma Britain was founded in 1985 by British members of the World Subud Association, as a social and humanitarian charity devoted to encouraging just and sustainable development in partnership with others in Britain and around the world. This work and these partnerships are funded by British Subud members through the understanding gained in their spiritual practice of the role of compassion, generosity and enterprise in the inner development of all human beings.
International Network
We are a voting member of the Susila Dharma International Association. SDIA is a network of similar NGOs throughout the world who work with their project partners on the ground. One of SDIA’s purposes is to provide a coordinating function between its network partners, be they fundraising charities or project managers throughout the world. The Association acts as a coordinator between these networks and project partners giving synergy to what are comparatively small organisations with limited budgets, to enable them to achieve more than if working alone. An important function of SDIA is to provide monitoring and evaluation expertise, capacity building support and publicity services to each of the network partners who require it.
Governance and Management
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The charity is a company limited by guarantee and registered as a charity. The governing document of the charity is the Articles of Association. The full name of the charity is Susila Dharma Britain. It is the social and humanitarian wing in Britain of the World Subud Association.
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Subud Groups are located throughout England, Scotland and Wales. The Chairman of each of these Groups is a member of Susila Dharma Britain and votes on behalf of their local Group at the AGM each year, at which time the achievements and future plans are reviewed and discussed. Any member may put forward nominations for appointment to the board. All trustees/directors are elected at AGMs by the members.
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Finances
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Susila Dharma Britain is proud to run a charity in which 90.5% of our income is channelled directly to the projects we support. 5% of our income funds project monitoring and evaluation, and the remaining 4.5% covers governance, accounting and administration by our volunteer board members. (These figures are based on average income and expenditure from 2019-2022.)
