Social Responsibility

From the perspective of Tao, spirituality and enlightenment are not separate from our everyday life whether in the lives of individuals or in the operation of an organization. The main purpose of practice in the tradition of Tao is to close the gap between a person’s personality and his/her divine true nature. When applied to an organization, this means closing the gap between the underlying spiritual principles and the daily operation of the organization, meeting the highest standard of integrity on all levels of its operation.

We humbly acknowledge that there’s ample room for improvement in the organization’s public recognition, and its roles and responsibilities for the local and global communities. But at the same time we gladly accept this challenge to demonstrate ourselves as a truly socially responsible spiritual organization manifesting the principles of Tao in all aspects of our activities and operations.

To meet a higher standard of social responsibility, we recently adopted new policies of operation.

1. Vendor Selection

We will select our vendors according to their policies and commitment to business’s social responsibility including environmental protection, fair trade and community service. The values they hold as well as the value they provide as vendors will be equally considered in our selection of our vendors.

2. Earth First Contracting

When other groups desire to use our facilities, we will apply favorable rates to the groups that have the policies that care for the planet and the people. Their policies and their implementation of their policies will be reviewed for this purpose. The groups that demonstrate high standards in caring for the people and the planet will be eligible to receive benefits including lowered fees for accommodations and for the use of our facilities and amenities.

To learn more about the eligibility for this benefit, please email to: admin@taofellowship.org

3. Employee Community Service Support

Having our employees and staff experience working for the community is very important for Tao Fellowship. Through this experience they can get personally involved in the community, making the connection between the organization’s values and its social actions. This will also enhance their sense of social responsibility and foster their understanding of the importance of personal service for the community. To accomplish this goal, we will recommend that all of our employees and staff work for the community at least two hours a week. Tao Fellowship will compensate the time they spend for the community service up to two hours a week as their regular work hours. We will provide the directory of non-profit organizations in the community from which our employees and staff can choose to serve. We will send out a notice to invite service requests from the local non-profit organizations for this purpose.

Future development of policies

Tao Fellowship has already established high standards of environmental protection for the operation of Sedona Mago Retreat. We are now studying new developments of environmental standards to upgrade our current standards with the help of consultants and experts in this area. This study will take a few months. When it is done, we will update our environmental protection policies and our plan for sustainable development and a renewable energy system.

All new developments and progress in our policies and their implementation will be posted on our website and shared through our e-newsletter and other social media.