In order to make the Star Island experience accessible to a wider range of people, costs are kept as low as possible. In fact, the room and board fees that Star Island collects only covers about 2/3 of their operating costs. The rest of their budget comes from donations to their Annual Fund and various capital campaigns. They will provide more information about this during your stay.
Similarly, our meditation retreat has a “program fee” that covers our expenses (supplies, cushions, insurance, travel, administrative costs), but not an honorarium for Rev. Dave’s planning and facilitation of the retreat. Dave’s ministry follows the “dana system” — the Buddhist tradition of making teachings freely available, while trusting the generosity of the community to support the teachers. Dana donations can be given to Studio Zero, the nonprofit sponsor of this retreat.
Both the Star Island Corporation and Studio Zero are IRS 501-c-3 exempt organizations, so donations are tax deductible.