SEED (Source for Educational Empowerment and Community Development) was founded in 1996 to bridge Indigenous wisdom and modern knowledge, established disciplines and new leading edge fields, and experiential and academic learning.  SEED is a 501c3 tax-exempt non-profit educational organization.  In the year 2005, SEED is launching a Graduate school, called SEED Graduate Institute, granting an MA degree in "Original Thought" with areas of study in Indigenous Ways of Knowing, Global Ecology, Science and Cosmology, Integral Healing, and the Expressive Arts.

The mission of SEED Graduate Institute is to provide a synergistic, interconnected holistic education that can empower individuals to find their true calling in service to their community and the natural world.  For more about SEED Graduate Institute.  Our school is located in the heart of Albuquerque's West Side community, just south of I-40 and Coors Blvd.

History of the Organization

For its first five years of existence, SEED operated exclusively as an open university, establishing a learning network of classes, seminars and workshops in northern New Mexico and beyond.  An open university is about teachers teaching their life passion to students who want to be there; not for credit, but because they are genuinely interested in the course material and because it can make an immediate difference in their lives.  Since 1996, over 8000 students have participated in SEED programs. 

Since 1999, SEED has sponsored an annual summer camp for children, called SEEDlings, and the Language of Spirituality Conference, featuring quantum physicists, Native American elders and linguists.  SEEDlings Summer Camp seeks to bring to our future generations much of what we offer to adults. The camp emphasizes environmental education, Native American practices and story-telling, mind-body disciplines, and the expressive arts.  It is held in conjunction with Hummingbird Music Camp in the beautiful Jemez Mountains.

The Language of Spirituality Conference is an international conference conducted primarily in a talking circle dialogue format, and has included Nobel Laureate physicist Brian Josephson, Leroy Little Bear, former Director of Native Studies at Harvard University, and authors Fred Alan Wolf, Joseph Rael and Nancy Maryboy, among others.  The history of the conference goes back to 1992, when Leroy Little Bear first approached David Bohm, and initiated a dialogue with Bohm, David Peat, Sagesh Youngblood Henderson, Dan Moonhawk Alford, and others, sponsored initially by the Fetzer Institute and then MIT.  The 1992 dialogue coincided with the 500th year since Columbus came to Turtle Island, and completed a cycle in which indigenous, holistic thinking, once suppressed and disregarded, reemerged on equal footing with leading edge Western science.  SEED agreed to sponsor these historic dialogues when funding sources ran dry, as they are the embodiment of our mission.  Leroy Little Bear has been the moderator of all the dialogues.

SEED now sponsors four annual conferences: The Language of Spirit (formerly the Language of Spirituality) in the summer, the Art and Soul conference in the winter, the Ecology Conference in the spring, and the Integral Healing conference in the autumn.

The current plan calls for the establishment of a leadership track for Native Americans in the spring of 2005. This track will be an MA track that is integral to the Indigenous ways of Knowing degree program and the overall Graduate school. The full Graduate school is scheduled to commence in fall of 2006.

SEED Graduate Institute

In the coming seven to ten years, SEED intends to build a campus for The SEED Graduate Institute and for continuing education on the 3 plus acre plot where we are currently located.  The budget for the campus is 7.5 million and will include 9 total buildings and beautiful, indigenous landscaping that will integrate the interior of the buildings with the exterior of the property.  The existing 5000 sq. foot building now serves as both the administrative offices and classroom space.

A second building is planned for groundbreaking in 2006.  The second building will be a Library, for SEED, and for the West Side of Albuquerque, and will initially also serve as classroom space for the Graduate program prior to construction of the Department Buildings (Target Date 2007).  The final buildings on the property to be constructed will be the Performing Arts and Conference Retreat Center, and the Student Union, Coffee House and Book Store (Target Date 2010).

Gift Giving Opportunities at SEED

Sponsorship Levels

Tap Root (Founder's Circle): $10,000 and up
Support Root: $5,000 - $9,999
Fine Root: $2,500 - $4,999
Trunk: $1,000 - $2,499
Branches: $100 - $999
Leaves: $99

Membership Levels

Family Membership: $50
Individual Membership: $35
Student/Sliding Scale Membership: $20



THE TREE ~ JOIN OUR CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
SEED has made an offer to purchase a 5000 s.f. building.  Funding is needed to complete the financing of the building.  We need to continue to raise money to purchase the adjacent 1.6 acres and to develop the new campus.
SEED would like to thank all whose donations have contributed to our growth in the previous year.  Your contributions have made possible the SEEDlings program, as well as forums and conferences such as "The Language of Spirituality," "the Travel Writer's Travel Tour," and other community based topics.  As a non-profit institution, we depend on contributions from the community to sustain our mission.  Please send your tax-deductible contribution to: SEED, 3900 Juan Tabo Blvd NE Albuquerque, NM 87111.

If you support SEED, but can not make a financial donation, please consider contributing to SEED in one of the other ways listed below:

Volunteers Needed

GIVE THE GIFT OF TIME
Call 505-792-2900 to join our community of like-minded individuals who support SEED's mission with the gift of themselves.  As a non-profit institution, SEED depends upon its volunteers to assist in nearly all aspects of its operations, including class registration, programming, public relations, marketing, fund-raising and administrative support.  Whether you are computer literate or not, we need your participation.  All volunteers are expected to join a committee (which meet once a month at the SEED Center for about one hour) and then to come to the SEED Center individually or in groups for 3-4 hours per month to carry out the action items of the committee and to help with general office activities if needed. There are several levels of commitment in which you can choose:

SPECIAL EVENT VOLUNTEER:
These important volunteers are on-call to assist in coordinating larger seminars with nationwide speakers, and for other special events such as the annual SEED Christmas Bash, and upcoming conferences and forums.  Special event volunteers may also help with deadline proofreading or mass mailings.  Time commitment per semester is approximately 3-5 hours.

REGULAR VOLUNTEER:
The backbone of the volunteer program, these volunteers are involved in all aspects of the production process.  In exchange for a consistent 4-5 hours of your time 1 day a week for a minimum six month commitment, you are entitled to apply for free classes, workshops and seminars, depending on availability.  Volunteers who are not computer literate are eligible to receive training as needed.

INTERNSHIPS:
If you are able to commit more time to SEED, or if your college or university has an internship-for-credit program, you may wish to apply for one of our intern positions.  Interns contribute a minimum of 10 to 20 hours a week, and the level of involvement is considerably higher than in either the special event or regular volunteer program.  In addition to credit or valuable work experience and training, interns receive the same benefits as regular volunteers.

COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP:
Committees generally meet once a month for approximately 2-3 hours and report to the SEED Board of Directors.  Committee participation is ongoing with minimum expected participation of between six months to one year.  Volunteers are presently needed for the following committees:

Fund-Raising
Identification of prospects, setting up of Fund-Raising meetings for Executive Director and Board Members, possibly going out with Exec Director or Board Members on calls, follow-up, thank you notes, Nurturing of existing and prospective Donors- Membership.

PR / Marketing
Promotion of Current Line-up, Press Releases, follow-up with Media contacts, planning of Selective Advertising Campaigns, creating SEED Radio Show Proposal, Special Events Sub-Committee for events such as The Language of Spirituality Conference.

Membership
Responsible for Member Renewal Campaigns, Member Special Promotions, Member-only Special Events, Member Socials.

Curriculum / Accreditation
Search for Possible Future Instructors for the Graduate Institute, Gathering Resources to Meet Criteria for State Licensing, Gathering of Resources for Meeting of Accreditation from North Central Region.

Maintenance Committee
Responsible for Maintenance of Grounds, Interior fo Building, Landscaping Maintenance, Interior Cleaning and Improvement to Space.

Finance Committee
Restricted to Board Members - responsible for overseeing the budget and strategic planning of financial development of the organization.

Nominating Committee
Restricted to Board Members - Responsible for Nominating Prospective New Board Members for both Board of Directors and Advisory Board.

Call Executive Director Glenn Parry at 505-792-2900 to volunteer for any committee

E-MAIL
seed@seedgraduateinstitute.org

PHONE
505-792-2900

FAX
505-792-5060

ADDRESS
SEED
3900 Juan Tabo Blvd NE
Albuquerque, NM 87111