Many have been inquiring about the progress of the NORBU fundraising campaign (https://norbu-ai.org/fundraising), which was initiated on October 3, 2023. As of October 16, the project has received RM 34,855 in donations.
The target amount is RM 150,000, sufficient to support 5 bots for a year (each bot requires approximately RM 30,000 annually for maintenance).
To achieve this goal, the campaign aims to garner support from 1,500 donors, each contributing RM 100. While obtaining the necessary funds is critical, what's even more vital is involving 1,500 people in using NORBU.
We began by launching the campaign in Malaysia because, first and foremost, the Buddhist Channel, which championed the development of the Buddhist chatbot, is based in Kuala Lumpur. Like any new endeavor, it requires a user base starting from its place of origin, which, in this case, is Malaysian Buddhists.
These 1,500 donors - whom we affectionately refer to as "Dharma Investors" - comprise the inaugural group to experience what we call "Dharma for Buddhists, by Buddhists, of Buddhists."
The fundamental premise and objective of NORBU are to facilitate Dharma learning for anyone, of any age, through a highly intelligent AI companion. Learning begins by asking a question, and through this process, individuals can progressively uncover more Dharma knowledge as they interact with the bot.
The essence of all this is that the bot serves Dharma - profound teachings of the Enlightened Buddha - and, through the bot, opens the hearts and minds of people to the boundless wisdom and compassion of Buddhist teachings. Dharma transmission is direct, from the bot to the people.
As the bot engages with these initial 1,500 Dharma Investors, this group is likely to promote NORBU if they find it useful and beneficial. Essentially, these 1,500 supporters can multiply quickly through word-of-mouth, potentially reaching tens or even hundreds of thousands of users.
This is the essence of the NORBU brand, that is "to make Buddha Dharma accessible to all and promote enjoyable learning through questioning". Its mission is Dharma-centric, with the objective of encouraging the study, practice, realization, and sharing of the Buddha Dharma.
Once this milestone is achieved, NORBU will reach what's known as "critical mass usage." At this stage, even a small percentage increase in users will lead to a significant overall growth.
We needed a way, a tool, a bot - essentially a "Dharma raft" - to make Dharma learning wondrous and refreshing once more.
While Dharma has always been available, it has become stagnant and often taken for granted, left unused. If Dharma remains unused, it is merely a book, a sutra, an item lying on a table.
Regarding fundraising, one might wonder if the target amount is attainable. In Malaysia and throughout Asia, one can find many beautiful temples, each requiring millions for development and mainly being used on weekends.
In contrast, NORBU's cost is perhaps a mere 10% of these temples, and it is accessible 24/7. We believe the target is achievable; people just need to recognize that the merits of Dharma support are not limited to physical buildings but extend to tools and methods of Dharma outreach.
Once NORBU gains critical mass support, it will be open to corporate backing. However, this will happen only when the brand and core values are robust, and users are comfortable with its mission and objectives.
When corporate support is introduced, there may be disruptions in the Dharma transmission between the bot and users in the form of advertisements, affiliate marketing, and non-Buddhist messages. Nevertheless, we have plans in place to mitigate major disruptions while maintaining NORBU's standards and quality.
Importantly, we intend to keep NORBU's access free (without fees) and respect users' privacy by not collecting their personal details.
The plan that we will discuss with potential sponsors includes the following:
NORBU will accept corporate support exclusively through a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arrangement.
Any advertisements displayed on NORBU must not distract users from their focus on learning Dharma.
No commercial content will be used to train the bot. If such information enters the system, the bot will be fine-tuned to remove it.
CSR programs will be negotiated only through public bots such as NORBU English, NORBU Chinese, NORBU Russian, NORBU Indonesian etc (all of these four has been established, but only the English and Russian versions have been publicly released. On plan are the Japanese, Sinhalese, Thai, Korean, Hindi and Tibetan versions.
Bots intended for training monastics will remain entirely free from advertisements and corporate sponsorship. However, these sites will be open to public donations.
Corporate sponsors will be made aware of NORBU's goals and objectives as a force for good. If their values align with NORBU's mission and image, we see no reason why such a partnership cannot be established.
Currently, we are in negotiations with a Japanese telecommunication group to implement NORBU for a Buddhist curriculum that will be introduced to the Japanese public school system. This will serve as the first test of the CSR model.
If this proves successful, similar CSR programs can be considered for other Buddhist countries, such as Thailand, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Korea, and Vietnam, as well as countries with substantial Buddhist populations like Malaysia and Singapore.
In summary, public support and CSR partnerships are NORBU's long-term sustainable plan. For now, in its infancy, NORBU requires support from Buddhists more than ever.
We eagerly welcome the first 1,500 Dharma Investors into NORBU's realm.
If you wish to donate, please contribute to:
Bodhi Vision
Account Number: 21220000044661
RHB Bank
Once you have made the payment, kindly notify Bro. Lim Kooi Fong with the payment slip via WhatsApp at 0162221839. You can view the list of donors at: https://norbu-ai.org/fundraising.