Purpose and Mission Statement of Emergence Benefactors

V1.0 March 11, 2021

Emergence Benefactors (“eBenefactors” and “the Corporation”) is a Charitable Not-For-Profit Public Benefit Corporation registered in Alabama. The purpose of Emergence Benefactors is to:

  • Improve human health
  • Promote science and the advancement of knowledge
  • Increase the flow of capital to entities with a public benefit purpose
  • Accomplish specific public benefits to society.

The mission of Emergence Benefactors is:

  • To broadly support healthy outcomes for individuals undergoing the process of emergent development (“emergence”), which others may refer to as any spiritual, mystical, religious, or energetic change
  • To fund and support rigorous, objective scientific research into the study of spiritual, mystical, energetic, and related experiences and practices (“emergent experiences” or “emergent practices”) and their effects
  • To fund and support the development of ontologically-agnostic clinical knowledge of emergent practices and effects
  • To promote the culturally-sensitive incorporation of this scientific and clinical knowledge into global mainstream evidence-based medical, clinical, therapeutic, scientific, public health, public policy, and general public knowledge bases.

The key stakeholders who Emergence Benefactors will benefit include:

  • Practitioners, teachers and researchers directly involved in emergent practices
  • Clinicians, healthcare workers, and support and social services in contact with people with symptoms and signs which may relate to emergence
  • Those creating technologies and therapeutic modalities related to these goals
  • Members of the EPRC and those aligned with a similar mission (“Aligned Entities”).

Emergence Benefactors’ Activities

Emergence Benefactors will engage in fundraising, accepting, and aggregating public donations, government grants, and other sources of charitable funds so as to provide freely-given financial and other forms of support for the activities of the EPRC and Aligned Entities. Activities eligible to attract support from Emergence Benefactors must align with our purpose and mission, and our status as a Charitable Not-For-Profit Public Benefit Corporation.

Our primary focus will be supporting academic research studies, including but not limited to literature reviews, study design, protocol development, data field work, data analysis, and writing. While Emergence Benefactors is incorporated to align with and support the EPRC, we will also constructively evaluate the effectiveness of other options and alternatives to accomplish our shared mission through Aligned Entities.

Emergence Benefactors funds may be directed to:

  • Provide research equipment and facilities
  • Partially or fully fund academic and other research-supporting positions and support staff
  • Further academic education, training, and attendance at educational conferences and meetings
  • Public opinion research, including effective incorporation of knowledge into various cultural and linguistic settings.

In addition, Emergence Benefactors may provide practical support, including (as appropriate) but not limited to:

  • Coordination, strategic planning, and logistical support
  • General technical assistance, including but not limited to governance, management, legal, compliance, accounting, and data processing
  • Communications and public relations support
  • Providing entities with various types of insurance
  • Compliance support to meet regulatory requirements
  • Other support as needed for EPRC Projects and those of Aligned Entities, including supporting the EPRC’s designated curators and other agents.

Emergence Benefactors will also undertake activities as part of our role as an agent of change in the broader context in which the EPRC and Aligned Entities operate. These may include:

  • Lobbying for beneficial public policy change within the scope of the general mission of the EPRC and Aligned Entities
  • Producing model acts and other types of legislation
  • Producing non-profit educational materials and facilitating their free distribution
  • Non-fee-based language and cultural translation services
  • Public and governmental outreach
  • Health policy and protocol development
  • General non-fee-based consulting
  • Creating, incubating, supporting, coordinating with other sister charities specifically designed to support the EPRC and Aligned Entities internationally
  • Coordinating, supporting, and creating research centers designated in the EPRC White Paper as well as other external research entities, such as research institutes, specifically helping to support the work of the EPRC and Aligned Entities.

In undertaking these activities, Emergence Benefactors may:

  • Facilitate direct donations from philanthropic organizations or individuals to the studies and projects of the EPRC or Aligned Entities where appropriate
  • Hire independent contractors and part-time and full-time staff as needed at fair market rates and with all government-mandated benefits as required
  • Contract not-for-profit and for-profit services at standard market rates
  • Recruit and train volunteers
  • Establish branches and related not-for-profit organizations with the similar general purpose and mission in foreign countries and territories
  • Enforce trademark and intellectual property rights
  • Refer philanthropic organizations or individuals to alternative charities and research groups where they are well aligned
  • Perform all necessary activities to maintain its 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status
  • Promote the mission of Emergence Benefactors and the EPRC and Aligned Entities.

Emergence Benefactors may update and revise these lists of activities from time to time as needed to reflect changing circumstances and developments.

Emergence Benefactors’ Prohibited Activities

Emergence Benefactors is explicitly prohibited from:

  • Lobbying to advance the interests of specific political parties or individuals
  • Making political campaign contributions
  • Renting or otherwise providing its contact list to any political organizations
  • Asking political candidates to support specific issues or legislation in exchange for public support or endorsement
  • Publishing information criticizing specific political candidates
  • Selling any products or services for a profit
  • Engaging in any illegal or illicit activities
  • Breaking federal, state, local or applicable international laws
  • Committing fraud
  • Loaning money or providing other banking services
  • Generating commercial profits from the sale of goods and services or unrelated taxable business income
  • Engage in revenue generation from gaming or gambling of any kind
  • Competing in private commercial markets
  • Engaging in any other political activity prohibited to organizations with 501(c)(3) status.