12/31/2010 9:00:47 AM

Dear Sadh Sangat,


Vahiguru Ji Ka Khalsa
Vahiguru Ji Ki Fatih


We are writing this letter to all well wishers of the Sikh Research Institute(SikhRI) to give an update on the accomplishments in the year 2010, the challenges that were faced, and our plans for the coming year 2011.

Although we had planned 93 events in our core areas of focus- training and development, strategic solutions and global awareness, we are pleased to report that the actual figures exceeded our plan by more than double, at 187 events. That is almost 3-4 events a week that we were able to bring to your area! As most of you are aware, the work that SikhRI does for our community has received a lot of praise and positive feedback. Perhaps some members of your family have availed themselves of our programs, such as Saneha, Liv, Sidak, Children workshops and more. We are heartened by this show of support and look forward to continuing and improving our efforts to serve the Sikh community.

The challenges faced this year were a little extraordinary. We had significant turnover in our Board of Directors as some felt that our practices in funding certain projects were not up to standard. We can categorically assure the sangat that there was no malfeasance here, and all funds were properly spent on specific projects money was allocated for. Despite the misgivings we have been informed by our accounting and legal team that nothing untoward has occurred, and the heart and mind of our staff to best serve the Sikh community is in the right place.

The turnover in the Board has impacted our funding. While others have stepped up, we will need to work harder to plug the gap and we are already doing so. We have taken steps to develop a better system to fund these projects so that the perception of our operations is aligned with reality. And we have requested two consultants from within the community to help us streamline our operational procedures. In addition, a formal audit has been started and we expect that to be completed shortly.

We continue to strengthen our staff and increase the number of events that we will bring to you in 2011. Our plans for the year 2011 include bringing educators together for the third Sikh Education Conference, publishing a Gurbani grammar book that can accompany our intensive Gurmukhi college-styled course, and a pilot project of developing and implementing a granthi training program.

On behalf of all our Board of Directors & advisors and our staff, we wish you all a very happy and prosperous new year 2011, and we look forward to your continued support in serving the cause of Sikhi.


Guru Ang Sang

Board of Directors, SikhRI
Dr. Gurpal Singh Bhuller (VA), Dr. IJ Singh ( NY), Inderpreet Singh (MA) , Harminder Singh (VA) , Baljinder Kaur ( BC)