MUHJ63-86/146/Memorandum on Establishing and Operating a Bahá’í Publishing Trust

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Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986 Memorandum on Establishing and Operating a Bahá’í Publishing Trust

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13 May 1974

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

146.1 The goal of the Five Year Plan to establish six new Publishing Trusts is by now known to you; these new publishing agencies are to be established in Australia, the Fiji Islands, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and Malaysia.

146.2 We have just sent to these six National Spiritual Assemblies the attached Memorandum on Establishing and Operating a Bahá’í Publishing Trust, together with our Memorandum of 28 March 1971. We now enclose both these memoranda solely for your information. It is possible that some of the six National Spiritual Assemblies charged with this goal may apply to any one of you for information about the structure and operation of your own publishing agency and we feel sure you will answer any questions they may ask.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,

THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE

Memorandum on Establishing and Operating a Bahá’í Publishing Trust

[Page 274] May 1974

146.3 1. The name “Bahá’í Publishing Trust” does not require the establishment of a Trust in the legal sense, and, in fact, more than one Bahá’í publishing agency is not called a Trust.

146.4 2. By whatever name it is called the objective is to establish a publishing agency, under the complete control and direction of the National Spiritual Assembly.

146.5 3. The difference between a Bahá’í Publishing Trust and any other Committee of the National Spiritual Assembly lies chiefly in the fact that the publishing agency does not operate on a budget from the National Spiritual Assembly but is established as a business with its own capital (whose sources are listed at 6 below), trading in the publishing and sale of Bahá’í literature and allied items, and the results of this trading remain within its own financial structure. It is a business, owned by the National Spiritual Assembly, to carry out its publishing requirements.

146.6 4. While it may first be set up as a Committee the aim should be to form some association, legally established, by which the National Spiritual Assembly may act as a publisher. This may be achieved either through the National Spiritual Assembly’s own incorporation or by the establishment of a separate legal entity with the National Spiritual Assembly having full control. But in any case legal advice must be sought.

146.7 5. The Company or Trust must be a non-profit-making organization, that is to say all proceeds from its transactions must be used for such things as paying salaries and other operational expenses, royalties and interests on loans and augmenting its own capital. It is not operated for individual profit.

Capitalization

146.8 6. Since the agency is to be operated solely for Bahá’í purposes, capital funds may not be received from non-Bahá’ís, although of course the aim is to sell books to the largest possible public. Capital may be obtained from:

a) Grants from the National Spiritual Assembly

b) Gifts from individual Bahá’ís or from Spiritual Assemblies

c) Profit from trading

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d) Loans from Bahá’ís or Bahá’í institutions. Such loans may be interest free or interest bearing but for every loan there must be a written contract setting out the terms of the loan, its duration, condition of repayment and all details.

e) Taking over any publishing assets (stock, outstanding accounts, etc.) which your National Spiritual Assembly or one of your Committees may at present have.

Production

146.9 7. Publishing is not the same as printing or manufacturing books. The publisher engages manufacturing firms to produce his books according to the publisher’s design and specifications. The actual production and distribution of books need not be confined to the country in which the Publishing Trust operates. The printing and binding may be done anywhere it is deemed most feasible economically, and from the point of view of control, quality, economy and financial arrangements.

Publishing program

146.10 8. Bahá’í literature comprises in general the Sacred Text (works of Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá); the Guardian’s writings; letters and publications of the Universal House of Justice; introductory and explanatory works; historical works; teaching pamphlets and other teaching literature. The purpose of establishing Bahá’í publishing agencies throughout the world is to make a wide range of such material available to everybody.

146.11 The specific program you must devise will therefore take into consideration the following factors:

a) What are the prevailing languages in your area of jurisdiction.

b) Will other National Spiritual Assemblies be interested in your publications.

c) What are your immediate needs for teaching and study of the Faith.

d) What literature useful to you already exists.

e) Reviewing.

Under

a) You will need to consider a program of translation and we refer you to our Memorandum of 28 March 1971.

[Page 276]b) If the answer is yes, you will need to consult any such National Spiritual Assembly with a view to establishing priorities and enlisting their help in translating.

c) Together with b) and d) should enable you to establish a publishing program by priority of need.

d) If you can, with reasonable ease, obtain needed literature from other Bahá’í Publishing Trusts you should obviously do so and use your own resources for publishing items not available elsewhere. Your own publishing agency should buy such material at wholesale prices and re-sell it to Local Spiritual Assemblies and individuals.

e) Everything published must be approved; see our Memorandum of 28 March 1971

Financial Programme

146.12 9. An appeal may be made to all the believers under your jurisdiction, as well as to any National Spiritual Assemblies under 8 b) above, to support the new publishing agency. In addition to such an appeal a general invitation to the friends may be issued to take up loans, see 6 d) above.

146.13 Proper accounts must be kept and a Profit and Loss Account and a Balance Sheet drawn up and audited every year.

146.14 Pricing of publications. Two objectives have to be balanced against each other, namely, to make Bahá’í literature available at as low a price as possible and to build up a sound business. Retail prices will have to cover

a) production costs

b) operating expenses (see 5)

c) discounts allowed

d) a small profit to repay loans and build up capital.

146.15 Postage on books. Cost of postage or freight may either be charged directly to the customer or included in the selling price.

146.16 If the National Spiritual Assembly wishes to sell a book at less than the commercial retail price, it should subsidize its Publishing Trust so that the Trust itself will incur no loss.

Management

146.17 10. The Publishing Trust should be managed by a Committee, appointed by your National Spiritual Assembly and directly responsible to you. Ideally it should have in its membership one believer capable of acting as general [Page 277] manager and conducting the business of the Trust on behalf of the Committee. At the outset it may not be possible to make this a full-time position or to offer a salary to the manager, but this point should be borne in mind as the business of the Trust increases and its volume of sales justifies such an expense. Perhaps it may be possible to find some competent believer who, for the present, would make the management of the Publishing Trust his or her Bahá’í service.

146.18 The above are not hard and fast rules but guidelines for consideration. The important thing is to tackle at once the problem of supplying literature to support the all- important work of teaching and study of the Cause. The Sacred Text, the Guardian’s writings, expository and historical works are all essential to the propagation and promotion of the Faith.