Feb 20, 2026

Dear Fellow Birankai North America Members, 

I want to start by restating something I said at summer camp this year–that I chose to affiliate with BNA even though the bulk of my aikido experience has been in a different federation because Birankai’s legacy, culture, and fundamentals are quite special. BNA has a unique emphasis on collective leadership. It is full of individuals that earnestly care about both the art and ensuring that there are no financial barriers to training. And it truly thrives on everybody’s participation and volunteer effort. In this way, it resists turning aikido into a product or a transaction. I have never met a more giving, idealistic, and committed group of people than the members of Birankai. 

In 2025, the Board committed to solving two organizational problems that arise naturally out of BNA’s resistance to commodifying the art, and I feel that we addressed these problems while sticking to our values. We found ourselves held back by diffuse, outdated administrative systems held by a large number of decentralized volunteers. Members were waiting a very long time for basic services like the registration of Dan ranks, to take one example. We needed to invest in upgrading and centralizing the core administrative work of the organization, and at the same time, we did not quite have the resources to do so. While costs and inflation have risen, we do not have a comprehensive fundraising plan, charge significantly less for summer camp than other federations, and have not raised fees in more than six years. 

The first move we made was to improve our systems. Centralizing administrative work has been a priority since 2019, and 2025 saw the implementation of a large, multi-year effort spearheaded by Gerard Enriquez to implement a central google workspace. Thank you Gerard for working tirelessly over years to get us on a centralized platform!  In 2025, we also hired Harmony Eberhard to creatively and thoughtfully assess our administrative work, and propose solutions that use technology better and enable more effective volunteer effort. With Harmony’s help in the temporary role of Project Manager, we have reduced the time it takes for Dan ranks to be recognized from years to months, and have begun to holistically imagine future improvements such as a new website, and have identified a membership database software that can handle the complex needs we have. Harmony will continue to work as a paid registrar moving forward, and Suzanne Gonzales Webb and Harmony will implement this new database in 2026. Thank you, Harmony and Suzanne! 

At the same time, board members needed to address the fact that the organization is operating at a significant deficit, and that we have limited runway to continue spending down our “quasi-endowment.” We committed in 2025 to thoughtfully raising fees in 2026 to raise a total of $17,000. These funds will pay for a paid registrar, effective implementation of new database software, and the software itself. 

We began this project of raising fees by looking first at the websites, tax forms, and asking around about ten other aikido federations, so we could ground or work in a sector analysis. What we found is that BNA punches way above its weight, giving significantly more in grants, scholarships and services to members than larger federations, while keeping its prices lower. Even after raising fees in 2026, BNA is the second most affordable aikido federation we could find comprehensive information about, and at the same time, we gave more in grants and scholarships in 2025 than any other aikido federation in North America.

This is a story of abundance that we should be proud to tell. Compared to other aikido federations, we ask for relatively little, are particularly transparent about fees, avoid tiered fees for Dan ranks that mirror Hombu, and are more committed to ensuring that our resources are shared. The board looks forward to continuing to make this abundance sustainable in 2026 by making volunteer effort more effective and implementing more fundraising efforts to further expand scholarships and grants. 

I want to conclude by recognizing the volunteers at every level that are the lifeblood of BNA. From the Senior Council, Board, and Teacher’s Council members who lead us, assess risk, and provide valuable oversight to the folks who manage our email addresses, workspace, and website; send e-blasts; watch our social media accounts; plan and execute every single aspect of summer camp; and on and on and on. These folks and their persistent effort are the reason why BNA is abundant. 

– Deborah Fisher, Board President, Birankai North America