Today, I’m inviting you to help transform Wildmind into a Community-Supported Meditation Initiative. This change is urgent because our current model isn’t sustainable; just a few days ago, I seriously considered giving up teaching. However, I also believe deeply in these changes because they align with my values and my desire to spread mindfulness and compassion.
Wildmind began almost 20 years ago as a free resource for learning meditation, and it has been successful in reaching many people. We expect over 800,000 unique visitors this year, with some of our most popular articles read more than 600,000 times. To support the website, I sold guided meditation CDs and offered online courses, initially for a fee and later mostly by donation.
However, things have evolved. Fewer people buy CDs or MP3s, and with more meditation apps available, our online course enrollments have declined. This old model isn’t working anymore, and we need to pivot quickly to ensure Wildmind’s survival.
I’m aiming to have my teaching fully supported by donations from the community. Although we started this transition a few years ago, we didn’t pursue it persistently enough, and the initiative stalled. Now, I’m convinced this is the right direction.
So, we’re turning Wildmind into a Community-Supported Meditation Initiative. In the past, our community has always been there to help fund special projects or during financial crises. For this, I am deeply grateful.
Our future lies in community support. We envision many supporters contributing a small monthly amount. In return, you will receive exclusive benefits, such as access to new courses I develop. These courses will be free for community members, and I plan to introduce new ones every two months.
Currently, we send out three newsletters a month. Moving forward, one will be exclusive to sponsors and will include a special article, a meditation download, and news about sponsor-only courses. We’re also setting up an online forum for sponsors to connect in a space free from ads and data harvesting.
All my current courses, about 30 in total, will remain free for the public, potentially benefiting thousands of people each year. This generous act is something you, as a sponsor, would enable, promoting mindfulness and compassion worldwide.
This new model aligns more with my core values and the tradition of community-supported teaching. To get started, we need just $6,000 a month, which breaks down into 1,000 “Wildmind Community Shares” of $6 each. You can sponsor as many shares as you are comfortable with—whether it’s one share or multiple shares.
There are no tiers of perks based on your donation amount; every contribution is equally valuable in sustaining our vision. Transforming Wildmind starts today. If you’d like to join us, please subscribe to the initiative.
Let’s do this together. Let’s transform Wildmind into a unique Community-Supported Meditation Initiative. Your support can help make this a reality.
With love and gratitude,
Bodhipaksa