According to a blurb in the Birmingham Mail a couple of Nichiren Buddhists hosted a garden party to benefit a hospice:
The party, in Wylde Green, attracted more than 40 members of a local Buddhist group and raised £140 for the hospice, in Erdington. The garden party was organised by group members Brendan Lynch and Jason Brogan, who are management recruitment consultants.Brendan said the event was organised by a group practising Nichiren Buddhism, a form of Buddhism associated with Nichiren Daishonin, a priest living in 13th century Japan.
I am assuming these are SGI folks, but I could be wrong. What I find remarkable is that this was a fundraiser for something other than one of SGI's own bogus "charities." It was for a real charity having nothing to do with propagating Soka ideology. That's rare.
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My fund-raising experience with the SGI has been solely for non-SGI benefit. I mentored children about animal care and abuse. We sold baked goods and chose to donate the proceeds to the Jane Goodall Institute and the National Wildlife Foundation. While there is nothing wrong with a non-profit religious organization taking donations, the SGI is also about giving back to the community and the world.
haiko, you say that there's "nothing wrong" with nonprofit religious organizations taking donations. No, there's not, as long as that organization accounts to its members and donors how that money is used. SGI doesn't do this. They'll say, oh, we spend X percent on keeping the lights on at the community center, and X percent for world peace events. But they do not disclose their billions of dollars worth of real estate holdings, how much they pay their top-paid employees, where member funds are invested (in weapons manufacturing companies perhaps? you don't know.)Churches and reputable non-profits disclose this information to people who ask. SGI just expects donors and members to trust them.It's really great that you chose to donate the little bit of money you earned in a bake sale to wildlife charities. With SGI's money, you could buy a whole rainforest preserve. But SGI buys luxury real estate in cities around the globe, and spends millions in its PR efforts and "awards" to promote Daisaku Ikeda. SGI Members have NO SAY, no vote, no voice in how the organization spends its billions.
Then don't donate money to the SGI. I told you my experience as an SGI member donating to what I and the children thought was a worthy cause, period. haiko