It's not fair to everyone donating to a charity that's not doing its job to plan a sustainable business. We get it, you put money into a cause, so that the cause can grow. But what happens when it isn't growing? Doesn't that just feel like a waste? The trifle us in this challenge is the question of how. We sympathize with the concern, in fact, Red Cross and a number of Churches are being criticized for their "abuse" of tax exemptions, and allocating a high percentage of donations, meant for aiding a disaster, into the nonprofit's own pockets. Sadly, that's been a common practice for decades. It's survival for many of us in the charity business. But even Grantors are starting to demand actual business from these 501c3 Titans, and Azure Lorica couldn't agree more.
Biblio Sinensis is our answer to this complicated development. Azure Lorica, the nonprofit corporation our program is owned by, has never earned a grant in the entirety of its existence. The company had always relied heavily on community contribution, including from its own Board Members and Officers. We thank them for their generosity, but if Grantors are demanding for sustainability business-wise, then we thought it was high time that we produced one, at last.
For years, Stefanie and I have been readers and tea lovers - hopping from one shop to the next, conversation after conversation, perpetually adding more flavors and stories to our insatiable pallet. Innocently, we took this love for culture as a hobby, disputing any notion to use this for business purposes with jolly rendezvous with friends for Anglophile trivia. Getting certificates from America's Tea Sage, and shaking hands with Sun Gardens' CEO were meant to be just our version of having a bucket list, geekgasm for our own fandom. It should've clicked sooner to us when we invited Frank Beddor to our own event, as a Guest of Honor, that this was a sustainable business to begin with. I suppose "impossible" was just a word for us to play with? But I'm getting off track...
We've always toyed with the idea of doing a Podcast, and with Stefanie's knowledge in tea blending, Azure Lorica has, at last, built a source of sustainability that we can all enjoy. Starting with our Estore, you'll find our series of Teas, ready to order, and easily brewed for your enjoyment. Coinciding with this is what made us love tea even more: the conversation. Not everyone's a conversationalist, but that's not to say that no one understands the practice. A college professor of mine once said "A person who doesn't read has nothing to say", and I handsomely agree. Too many are shy to speak about themselves, though Facebook begs to differ, but place a book between people, and the stories goes beyond sharing. It breaks the ice, it creates intimacy, and sometimes change. Sip a few cups of tea, and the conversation never ends.
It might just be the caffeine talking, but, dear reader, if you're anything like our friends, the tea community, and the Bibliophiles out there, you'll know how powerful a good conversation is. I should know, I got married thanks to just one. And, trust me, it's kept us sustained for over fifteen years.
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