What is Mystic Monk Scandal?

The mystic scandal had a drastic impact on the Catholics' beliefs and faiths, reducing the faith of the people in religious institutions. The scandal made it essential to implement transparency when undertaking fundraising activities.  The religious organization faces various types of challenges regarding accountability and transparency. These difficulties occur due to different rules and regulations, increasing secrecy and reducing the donors' trust in the organization. The mystic monk scandal highlights the various challenges these institutions face, and also offers different lessons for religious institutions. 

What is Mystic Monk Scandal?

In 2003, the Catholics started migrating from wilderness to populated areas, focusing on self-sacrifice and prayer.  The increasing amounts of ministry resulted in the requirement of finance for the monks. The scandal refers to the financial case that came into light in 2009, which included the Carmelite monks of the Immaculate Heart of Mary monastery in Cody, Wyoming, United States. The mystic monks started fundraising activities to procure a nearby ranch, known as the Irma Lake Ranch, to build a new monastery with a retreat center.  However, the fundraising activity came under scrutiny when it was found that the monks received significant funds from different organizations and individuals connected to the project director, Father Daniel Mary. The donations received by the project director were in exchange for future project opportunities, which resulted in mismanagement and fraud. The scandal resulted in a settlement, which included returning all the donations received instead of future business plans and stepping off any such promise.  The media gave large-scale attention to the scandal, which reduced the faith of the people in different religious organizations and their fundraising activities for different purposes. 

Source: Mystic Monk Coffee's history

Mystic Coffee was founded in 2007 by Monk Daniel Mary of the Clare Monastery in Wyoming.  Daniel Mary created a self-sufficient monetary system that can help sustain the monastery community.  Father started a coffee company for the monastery. The company was based on the ideas of quality and equality and became the official coffee of the Carmelite monastery. With time, Monk Coffee became one of the famous coffee brands providing special coffee with different types of roasts, blends and flavors. The company also provides many merchandise, such as gifts, apparel and mugs.

The business model of Mystic Monk Coffee

Mystic Monk Coffee is a small roasted coffee company founded in Wyoming, USA.  The company was founded in 2007 by monastery monks to fulfil the growing monastery's financial requirements.  The monks decided to start a coffee roasting business as it would help them provide a stable source of income and maintain their lifestyle as per the monastic requirements.  Monastic Monk Coffee followed a unique business model that helped it gain many loyal customers and followers and grow its income sources over time.  The business model followed by Mystic Monk Coffee had the following characteristics:

• Nickel market: The Mystic Monk coffee targeted a niche market for its products. The company focused on Catholic consumers who consume high-quality coffee from catholic monks. Although the customer base is minimal, the consumers are loyal and passionate about the products and their quality. 
• Online sales: The Mystic Monk company generally sells its products on online platforms through its official website.  Using online sources is beneficial for Mystic Monk Coffee as it helps the company promote its product to a large consumer base worldwide and helps earn large amounts of funds for the monastery. The company also sells its product offline through some selected coffee shops and retailers in the US. 
• Quality of the product: Mystic Monk Coffee is known for producing high-quality products for its consumers. The company roasts the coffee in small batches, which results in the freshness and quality of the product being retained. The company uses Arabic beans to roast them, which helps maintain the product's quality. Also, using traditional methods for roasting coffee increases the overall quality of the products, which helps attract a large number of consumers for the company in the market. 
• Branding: Branding plays an essential role in increasing the company's sales. Mystic Monk Coffee is known as a famous brand among the catholic monks. The company's marketing and campaigning use images of monks, which translates the message of tradition and quality to the consumers in the market.
• Philanthropy: The revenues earned by the company are used to support the life of Carmelite monks, the monastery, and other charitable works.  This type of activity helps increase the consumers' trust in the company and improves the goodwill of the company in the market. 

Conclusion 

The Mystic Monk coffee scandal resulted in public outrage, resulting in many monks' resignation from the company. The monks resigned from the company after the completion of the internal investigation. The investigation report showed that the funds raised by the company were not used for the proposed works. The scandal increased the need for quality and transparency in religious organizations.