[Ansteorra] 2009 Corpora and offical statement

[Lori Campbell]

I think Duncan did a great job with his explanation, and it does seem a lot like what we've done all through the years. 
 
This is just pure speculation on my part, but after participating in four years worth of Grand Council discussions about mission statements for the SCA... and with a nod to the recently appointed corporate Marketing Director... my uneducated guess is this:  
 
The SCA, Inc. is having just as many issues with funding as every other organization in these rough economic times, and there has been talk of finding revenue sources aside from just membership sales. To do this, we must be perfectly clear to outsiders when we explain who we are and what we do.
 
It is possible (perhaps probable) that the new mission statement is less for our own people and more to help outsiders understand us. An emphasis on "nonprofit public benefit" is to emphasize our educational and/or community service aspect. And specifying that we are a "living research" group helps explain that we have a stronger interest in historical accuracy than, perhaps, the recent proliferation of recreational Live Action Role Playing organizations. 
 
So yeah, basically all it does is reiterate what we've always been/done, but in a way that is more friendly to outsiders. 
 
At least, I suspect that may be one way of looking at it...
 
Kat MacLochlainn
>^.,.^<