FAQ: Valley Insight Finances
Where does Valley Insight’s income come from?
Contributions to our Annual Appeal are particularly critical this year. In years past, we received some income from dana offered at our in-person events and income from retreat registrations. Now, however, most of our events, including our weekly sits, are held in our Online Dharma Hall. We don’t receive dana for these events.
We mail our Annual Appeal letters and emails in fall, like many nonprofits, so we usually receive a large number of our donations in the last quarter of the year. Some people give to Valley Insight each month via PayPal, credit card, check, or through their bank account.
How does Valley Insight spend its money?
In general, the money we raise barely covers our expenses year to year. In a typical year, our major expenses include:
- Rent paid to Doreen and to other venues for our sits and retreats;
- Insurance;
- Expenses to support our Prison Sangha and Support Sangha;
- Compensation to Karen and Doreen for various administrative tasks they perform for Valley Insight; expenses paid for bookkeeping; website hosting, support, and maintenance; newsletter production; and other professional services;
- Other miscellaneous expenses.
How will this differ next year (2023)?
We’re currently discussing our 2023 budget. Our expenses for rent are reduced since we’ve decided to hold our Monday sit in our Online Dharma Hall and our Tuesday sit is currently meeting in person once a month at St. Barnabas. We continue to pay rent for our use of The Barn and want to be sure we can rent venues for retreats next year, so rent hasn’t disappeared entirely. Some expenses have increased (insurance and newsletter production), while others have stayed the same. In total, we need to raise about $14,000 in our fall appeal to meet our expenses in 2023.
How does teacher dana work now that all our sits are online?
Valley Insight has never paid teachers for teaching, facilitating small groups, or leading retreats. In those cases, attendees offer dana for the teachings. We give Karen and Doreen a small stipend each year to compensate them for administrative and editorial tasks they carry our for the Sangha.
In years past, people would drop cash or a check into the dana box at an event or send it to Valley Insight: we would then send it to the teacher. Now, you can offer dana to teachers online by using a credit cards or PayPal account. Or, if you prefer to pay by check, write a check to a teacher and send it to Valley Insight (at PO Box P.O. Box 634, Lebanon, NH 03766). We’ll send it directly to the teacher as it is received.
How can I give to Valley Insight?
There are numerous ways to give now: visit our Support Us web page »