equity and pricing
We offer tiered equity pricing in order to be accessible to people of various financial capacities. Please read below to understand more about how to choose your tier and why we use this system.
Money and our Programs:
● We believe in the power of reciprocity. Our intention is both to make our programs available to anyone who is called to participate, and to run a viable, healthy organization.
● We use an equity-based pricing system that recognizes that we do not all start from the same place when it comes to money, and that a fixed program fee that is easily affordable to one person is a barrier to participation for another.
● We ask that you thoughtfully determine the amount you pay for our programs based on your access to money. We offer some guiding questions to ask yourself (see below) to help you locate yourself on the pricing tier.
● We expect that individuals who can pay more without enduring hardship, will pay more.
● Rites of passage, along with other programs, include the practice of investing in yourself as a means of investing in the health of the community.
● It’s okay not to have a lot of money; it’s okay to be wealthy. We just ask that the price you pay is consistent with your financial reality.
Equity, Marginalization, and Historical Oppression
We understand that for some peoples, the playing field is not and historically has not been level. It is always an uphill climb. In order to bring more equity to this situation, we offer those who identify as being in an historically or currently marginalized or oppressed population to pay an amount in a tier lower than their current financial reality, if they choose to.
Reflections Before Deciding How Much To Pay
What value might you gain from your experience knowing that what you pay is something that you “feel” (which is an amount that is individual to you)? Below are some questions to guide you into seeing your financial reality with more context and clarity.
● Do I have difficulty meeting my basic needs for food and/or shelter?
● What is my gross annual income?
● In addition to—or in place of—my annual income, what safety-nets, privileges, and security do I have? (i.e. family support, assets, investments, retirement funds, inheritance, trust fund)
● Am I in debt? Can I afford the debt that I am in?
● If I have discretionary money, how do I currently choose to spend it?
● What value do I place on the non-material? Can I trust that an intangible gift to myself will have value long after the program ends?
● What is my relationship to how I choose to spend my money?
● What amount would be a bit of a stretch for my current financial situation, so I feel it, but not so much that I will suffer longer term consequences for having paid more than is within my means?
Choosing Your Amount
Identify which of the statements below best reflects your financial reality. Compare that with your reflections from the questions and initiatives above. Then choose the amount to pay by looking at the tiered pricing breakdown on the webpage of the program you would like to enroll in.
First Tier: It is important for me or my child to attend, yet paying Tier Two—even in several monthly installments— will undermine our household’s ability to pay our rent, clothe ourselves, buy medicine, and otherwise meet our basic needs for survival.
*Note that this tier is for those experiencing true financial hardship. If Tier Two was the fixed price and you could pay it, Tier One is not for you.
Second Tier: This expense does not jeopardize my ability to meet my basic needs. Rather, this amount will cause me to weigh between this and other discretionary spending (e.g. concerts, eating out, retreats, outdoor gear, updating household items, etc.) as I choose how to spend my limited income and savings.
Third Tier: I am sufficiently financially secure to pay this amount. It does not jeopardize my ability to meet my basic needs nor significantly limit my activities and purchases. I may have to account for it, but I can afford it.
*Note that this tier represents the average needed for this program to support Cascadia Quest’s basic health and maintenance.
Fourth Tier: I can pay this or more with relative ease. I have freedom when it comes to choosing how I spend my money. I rarely have to consider the price tag on something that I want, besides large ticket items. I am in a position to be generous with my money.
*Note that this tier supports Cascadia Quest’s basic health and maintenance while creating opportunities for other participants and our organization’s growth.
For rites of passage and vision fast programs: 3% of your annual income or 0.3% of your assets if you live wholly or partially on them is another way to determine an amount that strikes the balance of being felt, but not creating hardship.