The I AM Community Guidelines and Procedures

Guidelines and Procedures of The I AM Community

People join The I AM Community by receiving the gift of membership from an inviter. Thus membership is "paid forward", at the individual discretion of each member. The inviter also makes a monetary gift in the name of the persons/he has invited (any amount s/he chooses; however, it is suggested that an even number of dollars be chosen for reasons that will become clear below). This gift is given to the inviter's sponsor (and possibly others in the upward lineage of membrship, as explained below). Thus, the gift is also "paid backward" in gratitude to the person who introduced the inviter to the community. A two-way outward flow has been created, which is then balanced by a two-way inward flow. The inviter receives: 1) the gift of an additional month of membership from his/her sponsor, and 2) the monetary gifts of his/her new sponsees as they gift others into membership. This two-way - outward and inward - flow is referred to as Giving and Regiving. Placing the focus on the Giving allows the Regiving to occur naturally.

The invitee is "officially" a member once they have accepted the gift of membership. This happens in one of two ways: either the invitee tells the inviter (at the point of introduction or after their first call) that s/he wishes to be a part of the community OR the invitee attends a second call. At this point the new member is sent an "official" welcome email and welcomed into the community on one of our calls. The new member is not required to donate any money. The inviter is also expected to send on his/her gift within the week to his/her sponsor and any other entitled receiver(s).

The "level" of the inviter is equal to the cumulative amount of the gifts s/he has made in the current year (measured from the anniversary of his/her date of joining). S/he is entitled to receive (cumulative) gifts from each of his/her sponsees and others in their downward lineages in the amount of up to HALF of his/her level.

When a person joins s/he makes two non-cash gifts:

A gift to the community. This may be a service, performance or creative act, special blessing or sharing of something about themselves.
A gift to the world and/or the Earth. This may be an act of kindness, a special blessing or healing action for another person, for some other being (such as an animal or plant) or for the Earth as a whole, gardening or tending to their environment in some way, or volunteering a service.

The inviter will inform his/her sponsor of the total amount of his/her gift and ask how the sponsor would like to receive it. If the sponsor is entitled to receive only a portion of the gift, s/he willl give the inviter contact info (phone and email) for the member up one level in the lineage (his/her sponsor). The inviter will then contact that person to find out how s/he would like to receive his/her gift and how much s/he is entitled to receive. The inviter will also get THAT person's sponsor's contact info if necessary to send the balance (or another portion) of the gift if the person contacted informs the inviter that s/he is not entitled to receive the entire balance of the gift. (See examples bellow.)

The inviter's sponsor will inform the inviter when his/her gift has been received, which enables the inviter to complete the member form online (see link at bottom of page) with the new member's info and the amount of the gift made by the inviter (who is now the sponsor of the new member).

In addition to sponsoring new members, our members are also encouraged to make gifts to organizations outside our community. In some cases there may be a portion of a gift that no one in the gifter's upward lineage is entitled to or a portion of a gift received or other personal funds that s/he chooses to gift out of the community. For this purpose every member should make and keep a list of philanthropic organizations and causes s/he would like to gift this portion to.

Whenever a gift of this type is made the member is asked to send an email to E.Kratka@sbcglobal.net (so that community records of cumulative gifts may be kept current because ALL gifting** counts toward the value of gifts members are entitled to receive from those they have sponsored and others in the downward lineage).

Members are required to send a monthly report to their sponsor, detailing the names of all their sponsees along with their monthly renewal dates, the amounts of the gifts that were made in their name and the names of the people and organizations to whom the gifts were made. The report should also include a list of those previous sponsees who have elected not to continue membership into the current month. A form to use for this report is available at the bottom of this page.

Members are also expected to use the worksheets provided at the bottom of this page to keep track of how much they are entitled to receive, based on their own gifting, and the gifts they are given monthly by each member of their lineage.

When a sponsee makes a gift greater than the current level of his/her sponsor, the sponsor is automatically bumped up to that level for future receiving. However, the portion of the current gift that s/he retains is still equal to the sponsor's previous level. People at other points in the upward lineage are NOT bumped up.

The community meets at least once a week* by phone to

explain how our gifting economy functions and answer questions of invitees,
welcome new members,
share sacred love and be in a state of gratitude together,
send healing and blessing to one another and to the world.

On our calls we also:

learn new methods of healing beliefs about money and abundance,
learn and perform abundance exercises,
explore our soul purposes, engage in Spiritual MasterMinding and manifest our desires by various means
share our news of increasing abundance in our lives

Members also have a private portion of the call in which take place:

orientations on our Guidelines and Procedures for gifting and receiving
trainings in how to find/attract people to whom to gift membership

*Calls are held at different times during the week in order to accommodate people on different schedules and in different time zones.When a new member joins s/he is given the private number for the private portion of these calls. They always take place immediately after the open calls whose times are given on the promotion page. Members may elect to come on as many of these calls as they wish. It is suggested that a member commit to at least one call a week to effectively generate abundance.

The lead inviter will always have prosperity exercises, healing techniques and blessings to offer the group, but others are welcome and encouraged to offer as well, since our community contains people with lots of wisdom and knowledge and many gifts, talents and skills.

Those members who develop sizeable local groups may also choose to hold these gatherings in person.

Members of the public are welcome to attend the open portion of these gatherings once to get to know us and our work before committing to I AM membership (which triggers the inviter into making his/her gift). Since membership is free, "committing" here simply means that the invitee elects to experience The I AM Community for a month, at which point s/he can always decide to discontinue participation. The inviter is expected to follow up with the invitee after the first call or other contact with I AM and inquire what s/he would like to do. At the point when the invitee decides to join us, it’s the responsibility of the inviter to make sure s/he receives complete information (this document) about the program (as well as taking the other steps outlined below in the summary of a sponsor's responsibilities).

Guidelines for Gifting

Those with greater ability to contribute end up helping more people (including the larger community through the organizations we donate to) and are in a position to receive more.

Those with lesser ability have the opportunity to receive more as they invite in people with more resources, whose future gifts may automatically bump them up, and/or accumulate enough gifts (and other types of abundance) to upgrade their level by making additional cash gifts as part of sponsoring new members. And the non-cash gifts they offer to the community and world are just as valuable as the cash.

Think of your gifts as a way to jump-start the flow, since unconditional giving is THE most powerful way to create a flow of abundance. The more you feel able to give, the more will return to you. Many choose to apply the principle of tithing, which means to give back to the source(s) of your spiritual food. Although the word tithing refers to giving 10% of your income, the percentage is not as important as the concept. You might choose to give 5% or 20% of the abundance that flows to you back to our community by sponsoring new members. Of course you're also blessing your new sponsees in so many ways when you do this.

Those wishing to receive cash gifts are encouraged to join the 3-6 Club, so named because of the 3's and 6's that show up all throughout the suggested strategy (see below). Also, it is quite possible, by following the strategy, that a member will be receiving a net monthly amount in cash gifts of $600 after 3 months. The 3-6 Club meets weekly after each of the group calls and provides training and support for gifting memberships.

Rules

The total value of gifts received from a single individual within the space of one year may not be greater than the amount currently permitted by law without incurring tax liabilities. The amount is $13,000 for 2010.
Members can upgrade at any time (and as often as they like) to a higher qualification level by sponsoring a new person or making a charitable donation of some other kind**. Upgrade also occurs every time a member renews the membership of one of their sponsees.
A member must inform the lead inviter (Ellen) of his/her upgrade via an email, so that the lead inviter may keep accurate and current records of the levels of the members. This may be done simply by copying Ellen on the monthly report, which report is obligatory for maintaining the sponsorship position in the group.
**The only gifts counted in a member's level are those given directly to the upward lineage (not to charities) until the $250 level is reached on an annual basis. After that as much as half of each gift made over the course of the year may be given to charities and still counted for purposes of determining a member's level.
Two forms must accompany all monies sent (may be faxed or scanned and emailed to save paper). After the first gift has been made to an individual in the upward lineage, succeeding gifts to that same individual may be accompanied by a simple email stating, "I affirm for this gift the same things I affirmed in my two letters of [date]." The forms are available through the link given at the bottom of this page.
The donation transaction is to be carried out according to the preference of the receiver. This may be done electronically or by any type of payment (check, cash, money order) and mailing (overnight service or priority mail) the receiver prefers and feels comfortable with. If an electronic payment is made through PayPal, the gifter is asked to choose the "Personal" tab (rather than "Purchases"), select "Gift" and transfer the money directly from their bank or PayPal account (rather than using a credit card or bank check) so that the receiver incurs no fees.
Once a gift has been confirmed by the inviter's sponsor and the inviter has filled out the new member form online, the new member will receive a Welcome email from the lead inviter. Then s/he is free to sponsor people, receive gifts from those s/he invites and attend the private community calls.
Membership must be renewed monthly. Each member is free to decide on the monthly anniversary of his/her joining whether s/he will renew. If so, his/her sponsor will make another gift for him/her. It is suggested that the sponsor notify each of his/her sponsees on the anniversary of his/her joining to find out if s/he wishes to renew. And the sponsor will then determine if s/he would like to invite more people, for example to complete his/her full complement of gifts s/he is legally allowed to make to a single individual.
If a member's sponsor has dropped out of the community over the course of the month (and the member either has not heard from him/her or has inquired and been told that s/he dropped out), s/he will then contact THAT person's sponsor and, if necessary, further up the lineage, to arrange for renewal.
A member is considered inactive if s/he has not accepted renewal of his/her own membership or renewed his/her sponsees' memberships. In either case, if the member remains inactive for a full month, his/her sponsees may be taken on by the member's sponsor or whoever is the next active member in the upward lineage.
The renewal gift for a member may never be less than the gift made for that member the previous month. A sponsoring member may decide, however, to gift a lesser total amount by sponsoring fewer members. In that case the unsponsored members will contact the sponsor of their previous sponsor, and so on up the lineage, until they find a member who wants to sponsor them.
The lead inviter maintains the membership list, is the one who receives automatic notification (by the inviter through the new member form) when a new member has joined, and sends out the Welcome messages.
Anyone who learns about The I AM Community through the website or other means and who was NOT invited by a member, will be offered by the lead inviter via email to those in the group who have gone through orientation for sponsoring. Whoever replies first will be given that person to sponsor.
We work on the honor system.

Here's a summary of a sponsor's responsibilities:

Complete the online form each time you sponsor a new member. Speed is very important with this step, so the new member feels welcomed right away, and the gifting momentum continues.
Send your gifts (for all those you have invited and who have decided to join us) weekly, so your sponsor and others in the upward lineage receive them promptly and can celebrate your giving with you.
Include the gifting forms (see below) each time you make a gift. Email is acceptable for this after the first time.
Inform your new sponsees of how and to whom to send future cash gifts they may make (as they sponsor others).
Make sure each of your sponsees has seen this page and understands it and knows s/he must attend an orientation call before gifting others into membership.
Check in with your sponsees monthly about whether they wish to renew their membership. For each one from whom the answer is Yes, send a renewal gift (to your sponsor and upward lineage).
Email Ellen monthly (using the form at the bottom of this page) with a report on renewals and all your gifting activities. Please include the name of your own sponsor in that message.
Inform your sponsor if you decide NOT to renew your own membership at any time.
Keep track of your own gifting and entitlement to receive gifts using the worksheets at the bottom of this page.

Suggested Strategy for Building Wealth through Gifting

Offer the gift of I AM membership to one new person each day, 6 days per week. It helps to put a pebble in a pocket or purse (someplace where you feel it frequently) at the beginning of the day and move it to a different pocket or to your desk once you have made your daily offering. At the end of each week it is likely that at least 3 of those people will have accepted your gift, especially if you follow up with them, at which point you sponsor them into membership.

The suggested gift per person per month is $6, since this amount will feel reasonable (do-able) to most people and since the number 6 has always been associated with love, money, heart energy and abundance of all kinds. If $6 feels like too much you may give less. With this strategy it's very possible to achieve 6 figures in gifts received on an annualized basis after the first year and 7 figures after two. (If only 1 out of 6 of the people you sponsor follows this strategy, after one year you will be receiving a minimum net of $11,000 per month.)

In the beginning it's important to just stick with the process - Trust it! - as it's possible that you may start receiving more than you're giving after you have invited 3 people*, but it's also possible that it will not happen until you have reached 20, since it cannot be determined in advance how many of those you sponsor will sponsor (gift membership to) others.

*The minimum to receive more than you give is 3 if everyone in your group follows the same strategy.

Examples of cash flow

Example #1

You sponsor a group of friends with a total gift (to your sponsor, etc.) of $30.
Your sponsee does the same.
That person's sponsee does the same.
You receive back the same amount you gave - $15 from your sponsee and $15 from his/her sponsee - each time one of them sponsors a new member.
You may receive MORE than you have given by sponsoring more people to join us and/or sponsoring someone who eventually makes a larger gift, thus bumping you up.

Example #2

You are at the $200 level.
One of your sponsees makes a total gift of $100.
You are entitled to keep the entire amount.

Example #3

You are at the $100 level.
Your sponsor is at the $500 level.
One of your sponsees makes a gift of $300 (all at once or in increments).
You receive $50 (half your level)
Your sponsor recceives $250 with the option to gift out of the community some portion of that.
In this example at least 2 people have benefited from the cash gift. The entire community and world have also benefited from the various non-cash (and possibly cash) gifts.
You are bumped to the $300 level for future receiving, which means you may keep up to $150 of future gifts.

Example #4

You are at the $500 level.
Your sponsor is at the $300 level.
His/her sponsor is also at the $300 level (and up through 4 more people in this lineage).
Your sponsee makes a gift of $900 (all at once or in increments).
You receive $250.
Your sponsor receives $150.
His/her sponsor receives $150.
His/her sponsor receives $150.
His/her inviter receives $150.
His/her sponsor receives $50 and either keeps it or gifts some portion of it (up to $25, which is half of $300 - $250) out of the community.
In this example at least 6 people have benefited from the cash gift. The entire community and world have also benefited from the various non-cash (and possibly cash) gifts.
When the full gift has been made you are bumped up to the $900 level for future receiving, which means you may keep up to $450 of future gifts.

Example #5

You are now at the $900 level (see previous example).
You receive $400 from one of your sponsees (either all at once or in increments over time).
You may keep it all or gift some portion of it out of the community.

See sample charts (link below) to help you calculate the potential amount of gifts you may receive.

Any questions may be directed to your inviter, brought to one of the daily calls or sent to the lead inviter by means of the Contact Me page of this website. If using this last option, please include the name or code of your inviter - to be found in the promotion you saw, or tell me how you got to this page. Include your phone number (with time zone and preferred time of contact) if a conversation is desired.

You may also contact either your inviter or the lead inviter to proceed to joining. If you need the number and times for the open calls, refer to the Why I Love Gifting page.

Forms and links

Very Important: The two forms you must include with your gift may be downloaded here.

You may download a worksheet to keep track of the gifts you RECEIVE here.

You may download a worksheet to keep track of the gifts you MAKE here.

You may download a sample gift certificate to use when inviting new members here.

You may download income potential example charts (with formulas) here.

You may download a form to use for the monthly report here.

The link to the new member form is here.

May you experience a life full of blessings and abundance!