Grassroots Godism - Year One Game Plan

We are writing to inform you about an exciting new project called “Grassroots Godism.’’ The purpose of 11 Grassroots Godfsm” is to find an energetic, attractive way to introduce True Parents teachfngs to mainstream US culture.

We’ve been through a disheartening period of confusion, division and polarization. Last September, several of us started talk.Ing about undertaking an ambitious grassroots project. How about if we pull a few pieces together to see if we can make a difference?

What are those pieces?

• People, especially young people, suffering from moral/value confusion, in need of uplifting answers in a language that they can relate to …

• The teachings of our True Parents, that are profoundly Hfe giving for some, but impenetrable and even out of bounds for others …

• Experienced and motivated Unificationist, whose diverse talents and expertise are so precious to God, but as yet so under-utilized ,..

• The internet, a communications platform having profound impact on culture and civHization, but not yet fully used to benefit God’s providence …

We’ve had lots of conversations about what to do. Fifty-OHO people receiving this mailing have been part of that conversation - we thank each of you for that For another roughly 150 people, this mailing serves as an introduction to the embryonic project that has arisen as the fruit of those conversations.

Enclosed, please find a booklet titled “Grassroots Godism ~ Year One Game Plan”. This document has been through ten iterations over the past five months. It Is the result of conversations, feedback, research, meetings, and a survey. Coufd you please take a few moments to carefufly read through this short booklet? We hope you will consider becoming a participant in and/or a supporter of “Grassroots God ism”.

Our Steering Committee would appreciate hearing back from you. Do you have comments or suggestions on the “Year One Game Plan”? How can you help? Do you have nominations for the pos]tions & talent described in “Year One Game Plan”? Can you suggest someone we should add to our malling list? Do we your email address? If you are not sure, please send it to us.

/ Steering Committee James Edgerly jbedgerly@aol.com; {781)572-8070 John Hesse!! jhessell@gmail.com; (201)956-1650 Mark Anderson markandersonS@cox,net; (480)628-9953 Advisor Yoshi Shiatsu yshiotsu@gmail.com

PS - Stay tuned for our “Kickstarter” campaign

Grassroots Godism Year One Game Ptan

I. Underlying Assumptions & Motivations

II. Statement of Purpose

Ill. Products & Distribution Channels

IV. Organization

V. Year One Development Plan

VL Project Content

February 2020

Grassroots Godism February 2020

Year One Game Pian

The Steering Committee is drcu!ating this document to expand awareness, interest and involvement in this project, and to sondt comment/feedback from readers.

I. Underlying Assumptions & Motivations

A) Unique Value of True Parent’s Words True Parents have brought a new, higher expression of God’s Word. God’s intention is that the dissemination and application of t his new understandlng wif1 contribute to the advance of God’s providence and the betterment of humankind.

B) Relevance to the Tribal MeS5iah Mi$sion Our desire and responsibility as Tribal Messiahs is to liberate God, and to reach out to our family, friends and the public with spirit and truth. This requires us to be able to enthusiastically and effectively share the new understanding brought by our True Parents.

C) Need for Powerful Content and Effective Delivery We are the most effective mediators between True Parents and our family and culture. To succeed, we need to be the creators of educational content that is attractive, powerful, easily communicated and readily understood by our family, friends, acquaintances, and the broader public.

D) Examples of Successful Pie1tforms TED Talks, Crash Course and Prager University a re some examples of ambitious, highly effective web-based educational platforms. Their purpose is to provide content {primarily video) that impacts personal values and mafnstream culture. They appear to be models to follow; not necessarily for their content, but for their design, communication strategy, and organllatlon.

£) Avaifabfe Unificotionist Resources Our October 2019 survey confirmed broad enthusiasm, primarily among 1 our elder generation, for a “Godlsm” and/or “Headwing” advocacy project Extensive and talented grassroots Unificationist re!.ources (intellectual, technical and financial} are available to support this project.

’ F) Initial Skepticism Though enthusiastic, the individuals referred to in paragraph (El above are also generally skeptical. Talent and resources will he become ’ \

avaifab!e once these individuals are convinced an effective, trustworthy, and reliable organization and communication strategy is available.

£}Audience Education/advocacy content should be readily accesslb!e, easily understandable and appealing to: i. our family and people we casually meet ii, those with an initial interest in the Unification Movement iii. those who have known our movement but are disconnected iv. the broad public

II. Statement of Purpose

A} Develop an organization, communication platform(s}, and content to effectwely disseminate True Parent’s teachings on topics related to spiritual understanding (“Godism”) and/or public policy (“Headwing”) to the broad US public.

Bj Through this effort, have a beneficial Impact on people’s family and spiritual life, leading to a more Godly lifestyle of selflessness and service.

CJ By way of attribution, expand True Parent’s legacy and recognition, possibfy increasing support for and membership in Unification organizations. /

m. Products and Distribution Channels

At the outset, the primary product will be concurrent, topical, on-Hne discussion forums. Each forum will be initiated and managed by a subject matter expert. We anticipate the end result of a web-based forum wm he a “white paper”, and possibly video content and subsequent forums.

Other products/output may include: sodat media content presentation materials content for small groups booklets podcasts flyers, business card.s The primary distribution channel wm be a professionally managed and commerdalfy promoted website. Other possible channels may include social media, YouTube, journal, seminars, essays, pub1ications and conferences. Content developed may he 5Uitable for vse and/or dissemination by various Unification organizations such as CARP, ACLC, UPF, etc.

IV. Organization The organization for advancing the Statement of Purpose wrn have five elements - donors, a steering committee, an executive team, content developers, and a production/distribution team.

Donors The source of financial support wm be younger and older generation Uniflcationists who offer periodic, tax deductible contributions.

Steering Committee The Steering Committee will be a group of 3 to 5 Unlflcationlsts, each with i) a sound understanding of the teachings of our True Parents, and ii) successful experience developing/operating profossiona! organizations.

Their initial duties wm indude:

• prepare demonstration content and documents for fur1drafslng • raise initial financial requirements from donors • interview and select the Executive Team • supervise and support the success of the Executive Team • develop guidelines/bylaws/oversite to ensure the project remains aligned with its purpose • establish an editorial hoard (if necessary)

Executive t earn Director FuU-time position, reporting to the Steering Committee Develops and expands contact/resource list: Donors Subject matter experts Editors Technical talent Designers Amed organizations !dentffies and coordinates content providers and the production team Networks with allied organizations (such as AClC, CARP, UPF, Focus; on the family, Ascend, etc,) £stablishes, demonstrates, and enforces organizational standards, purpose and controls Manages productivity, quality control and continuous improvement

Administrator Part-time position, reporting to the Dlrector Supports the work of the Director, content developers and the production team Manages financial and technical resources Prepares and submits a perlodk finandal report to the Director and donors

Content Developers Content developers are the core res.ource of the “Gr.issroots Go-dism” project. The purpose of other elements of the plan is to support the flourishing, creativity and success of numerous content developers.

Content on a specific topic or issue area related to the Statement of Purpose will be developed by two or more persons working together. They wm produce impactfut “principled” content suitable for public dissemination The work of content developers is expected to proceed atong the following sequence:

i) Submit a topic/content proposat to the Executive Team for approval

ii) Develop “principled” product or content, for review and eventual approval by the Executive Team (see Section m above) iii) Work cooperatively with the Production/Distribution Team on packaging and disseminating content

The Executive Team wilt provide support to content developers through access to additional subject matter expertise, technical and financial resources, as well as procedures for qua!ity control and editorial review.

Production/Distribution Team The Production/Distribution Team {Production Team) will have professional capability in all aspects of digital communications: branding, messaging, design, graphics, website development, SEO, video production, etc. Once content is approved by the Executive Team, the Production Team will work cooperativety with the content developer to design, package, market, distribute and track the content.

V. Year One Development Plan

• Steering Committee raises initial funds to support preparation and dissemination of demonstration content • Steering Committee forms a temporary demonstration team to design, develop, produce and disseminate “demonstration content” • Steering Committee receives norninatlons, interviews and selects the rnrector • rnrector, with the assistance of the Steering Commtttee, interviews and selects the Administrator; final apprnvar by the Steering Committee • Steering Committee and Exec Team develops and drsseminates promotional content and col!ateral documents to raise the in1tla! financial requirement • Execuhve Team solicits proposals from potential content developers, reviews and selectively approves projects • Executive Team identifies or selects Production/Distribuhon Team; approval by Steering Committee • Content developers prepare content for review, feedback, and approval by the Executive Team • Production Team, w1th involvement of the Executive Team and content developer, designs, produces and disseminates content • Director undertakes a year-end review to evaluate and improve each program element

VI. Project Content

Grassroots Godism will not have a set curriculum. The Director and Steering Committee will solicit or consider content on topics or issues area consistent with the Statement of Purpose. The content solicitation or selectfon process is likely to follow written guidelines that ref lect criteria such as the following:

Broad - Topics should be diverse, relevant, timely and compelling. This breadth will enable the project to maximize its appeal to both content developers and the public. ill

Prioritized - Some proposals/topics/issues are likely to be more dosefy related to the Statement of Purpose than others, Priority may need to be glven to content depending on relevancy to accomplishing the purpose of the project.

Unifying -Content will appeal to, inspire and serve the broad population of Unlficatlonists, regardless of perspective. Undoubtedly, controversy will occur with topics relating to religion and public policy. Nevertheless, the intention of the “Headwing” perspective is to enlighten and activate rather than polarize and agitate.

Expert - In terms of expertise, rigor and design, the. quality of content distributed on the Grassroots Gocllsm(2l platform should be competitive with or comparable to other web-based education platforms.

Prepared by the Grassroots Godism Steering Committee James Edgerly, John Hessell, Mark Anderson Yoshi Shiotsu, Advisor

FOOTNOTES (1) Prager University’s 2019 Annual Report presents the following “Category Spread~ for its weekly videos during 2019: History (11 videos), Politics and Culture (19 videos), Foreign Affairs (2 videos), Economics {8 videos), Life lessons (7 videos), Religion & Philosophy (5 videos).

(2) Terms used in this document such as “Grassroots Godism”, “Godism”, and “Headwing” may ot may not retained as the project develops.