Scientology Missions International (SMI) is a

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

n 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, which is located in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. SMI is part of the Church of Scientology network. While being a corporation, SMI is also a management entity, which is ecclesiastically integrated within the mother church of

Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a Scientology as a business, business, or a new religious movement. The most recent ...

, the Church of Scientology International. SMI runs on a worldwide basis the so-called "Scientology Missions", which are beginner organizations within the Church of Scientology network. These Missions offer basic

Dianetics Dianetics (from Greek ''dia'', meaning "through", and ''nous'', meaning " mind") is a set of pseudoscientific ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body created by science fiction writer L. Ron Hub ...

and

services to Scientology members and to the general public. The official website of SMI states the following about Scientology Missions and the functions of SMI:

... Scientology Mission is the entrance point in Scientology for people of all faiths and walks of life. Here, people become introduced to Dianetics and Scientology technology. ... Scientology missions also preside over naming ceremonies, officiate over marriages and funerals and are there to assists those in distress. ... To assist missions in these endeavors, Scientology Missions International (SMI) was formed to act as the mother church for all missions. SMI's international offices provide guidance, help and direction for existing missions through a global network of continental offices. Through training manuals, apprenticeships, direct consultation, magazines, newsletters, promotion and a wealth of other materials, SMI provides the wherewithal new and existing missions need to function and expand. ..."

In a 1993

memorandum A memorandum ( : memoranda; abbr: memo; from the Latin ''memorandum'', "(that) which is to be remembered") is a written message that is typically used in a professional setting. Commonly abbreviated "memo," these messages are usually brief and ...

by the Church of Scientology International, the following information was provided to the Internal Revenue Service with regards to SMI's role, its personnel and its income:

... Missions ..., nearly 100 in the United States alone and over 250 worldwide, minister the lowest levels of religious services to parishioners within their localities. Missions are under the ecclesiastical authority of SMI, which in turn is under the ecclesiastical authority of CSI. SMI itself has a staff of approximately 26 individuals and an annual budget of approximately $2.6 million, based on its annual disbursements for the most recent year for which financial statements are available...."

Corporate information

SMI was incorporated on December 22, 1981, in Los Angeles, California by its

Trustees Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...

William J. Duckhorn, Edward E. Brewer and Cecilia P. Murray. On June 17, 1982, the Board of Trustees amended the

Articles of Incorporation Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article may also refer to: ...

. The day after, on June 18, 1982, SMI's Board of Directors, then consisting of Roger C. Barnes, Karen Sue Campbell and Howard D. Becker, adopted the

Bylaws A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), or as it is most commonly known in the United States bylaws, is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authorit ...

of the newly created organization. On September 21, 1993, the following individuals held

corporate A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...

positions at SMI: The Board of Trustees was composed of Jonathan Epstein, Jessica Pruitt and Pablo Lobato. The members of SMI's Board of Directors at that time were Jean Discher, Bernard Radburn and Claire Edwards. SMI's

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

was Jean Discher, its

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

and

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...

Beate Gordon and its Assistant Secretary Bernard Radburn. As of November 23, 2000, SMI's

corporate officers Corporate titles or business titles are given to corporate officers to show what duties and responsibilities they have in the organization. Such titles are used by publicly and privately held for-profit corporations, cooperatives, non-profit or ...

were Richard Fear (

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

/President), Joi Marchant (

) and Claire Edwards ( Chief Financial Officer/

). On August 18, 1993, SMI filed an application for

tax exemption Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...

under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and on September 3, 1993, a request for a "Group Exemption Ruling" for the affiliated

Missions in the United States. In 1993, the Internal Revenue Service eventually granted SMI's requests for exemption. The current official address of SMI is 6331 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028. SMI operates from the same address as the Church of Scientology International and other sub-entities of CSI. SMI's official

agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...

is Jeanne Caugan. Her official address is 3055 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 900, Los Angeles, CA 90010.

Licensing of trademarks and service marks

Within the

corporate structure A typical corporate structure consists of various departments that contribute to the company's overall mission and goals. Common departments include Marketing, Finance, Operations management, Human Resource, and IT. These five divisions represent ...

of the Scientology network, the

Religious Technology Center The Religious Technology Center (RTC) is an American non-profit corporation Letter by the Internal Revenue Service to Flemming Paludan, Regional Director, Danish Tax-Office, Washington, D.C., USA, December 22, 1993 that was founded in 1982 by th ...

owns the right to license the

trademarks A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

and service marks through a so-called "assignment agreement" between RTC and the founder of Scientology,

L. Ron Hubbard Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored '' Dianeti ...

on May 16, 1982. RTC and CSI entered a

license agreement A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

on May 18, 1982, granting CSI, the new "Mother Church of Scientology," the right to use and sub-license certain of the trademarks and service marks. As a consequence, CSI entered a

with SMI on May 19, 1982, which granted the right to SMI to further license the

and service marks of the Scientology Missions. In the years following the signing of the agreement with CSI, SMI has entered various license agreements with Scientology Missions around the world over the use of the Scientology

and service marks.

Organizational structure and management

In addition to its

status, SMI is also a part of the ecclesiastical command structure of the international Church of Scientology management. Integrated within the

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral or a metropo ...

, the Church of Scientology International, SMI is one of 8 sub-units and

networks Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

, which form the so-called "Flag Command Bureaux" (FCB). The Scientology

management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a Government agency, government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includ ...

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physi ...

let ''The Command Channels of Scientology'' states the following about the FCB:

... The Flag Command Bureaux, so named from its origination aboard the Flag Ship Apollo, is the central point of tactical management for all the individual orgs and units of all the sectors of Scientology. The Flag Command Bureaux is the tactical level of management. It gets International Management plans, evaluations and programs done in all the individual orgs and units...."

Describing the purpose and functions of SMI, the "Command Channels" booklet sees SMI as a "tactical management unit which is in charge of and fully responsible for the expansion of the mission network." Furthermore, it states:

... Its purpose is to get missions functioning as Scientology's spearhead into the society and to hold wide open the entrance gates of the Bridge. This is achieved by getting the missions flooding their community with books, getting a huge volume of new public onto the Bridge through clearly delineated introductory routes with basic Scientology and Dianetics services well delivered, and by driving people further up the Bridge to orgs so they can train as auditors and go Clear and OT.

"SMI INT assists missions in accomplishing this by helping them execute tactical programs provided by the Senior Executive Strata. SMI INT sees that missions get their technical and administrative staff trained in orgs so they perform their functions.

"SMI INT is responsible for keeping missions inethics, in-tech and on-policy so they expand and fulfill their purpose of being a successful front-lines dissemination activity for Scientology which sends a high volume of new public, having successfully received basic services, on up to orgs.

"SMI INT also sees that new missions are opened and gotten productive. There should be 10 missions around every org, each actively sending a large flow of new public to its local org, thus contributing to its expansion up to and beyond the size of the old Saint Hill in its prime...."The Flag Command Bureaux, Page 17 - 25 of the Scientology Command Channels booklet, Chapter on Flag Command Bureaux and its sub-entities, Los Angeles, California, 1988

References

External links

Scientology Missions International homepageScientology Missions International Index
{{Scientology Organizations based in Los Angeles Scientology organizations Religious organizations established in 1981 hu:Szabadzóna

Corporate information

Licensing of trademarks and service marks

Organizational structure and management

See also

References

External links