A community fund for lifting one another up
Some who walk through these doors arrive carried by ease. Others arrive carrying a great deal. The Pay It Forward Fund exists so that the heart of this work — a seat in a circle, a night of rest, a place at the table — is never out of reach for someone who longs for it but cannot meet the cost alone.
This is one of the ways we practice community here. When we have been given much, we have the chance to give much in return, not as charity handed down, but as neighbors lifting one another, hand to hand.
The heart of it
There is an old teaching that to whom much is given, much is required. Across traditions, the same truth returns: what flows to us is meant to flow through us. In the Buddhist path this is dāna — generosity offered freely, without strings, as a spiritual practice in its own right. It rests on interbeing: the understanding that we are not separate, that your wellbeing and mine are woven of the same thread. So when you give here, you are not giving to a stranger. You are tending the whole.
Every tradition knows this
This is not a new idea, it is one of the oldest we carry. The Buddhist gathers in sangha, the community that holds each person on the path. The Hindu speaks of kula, the spiritual family we belong to beyond blood. In the Christian gospel, wherever two or three are gathered, the sacred is present among them. The Jewish tradition calls giving tzedakah — not charity, but righteousness, a matter of justice we owe one another. Islam names it zakat, a pillar of the faith: what we hold is not fully ours until a portion has reached those in need. And across southern Africa lives ubuntu — I am because we are. Different words for one knowing: we become whole together, or not at all.
Ways to pay it forward
There are a few ways to give:
- Gift a specific spot. Cover a ticket to an event, or a night of lodging, for someone who could not otherwise come.
- Give toward someone’s participation. Contribute to another person’s event or stay, in part or in full.
- Donate your unused spot. f you find you can’t attend an event or make your stay, you’re welcome to donate your ticket or spot to the fund rather than let it go unused — turning a change of plans into a gift for someone else. Just check with us first: some gatherings and stays require pre-approval, so a donated spot isn’t always transferable, but we’ll help wherever we can.
- Give to the fund. Make a gift to the Pay It Forward Fund itself, which we hold and steward until it can be offered where it is needed. [add donation link]
How the fund is held
Every gift is accounted for with care. As the fund grows, it is offered in service — making room for those for whom a circle, a workshop, or a place to rest would otherwise be out of reach. It exists for one purpose: to widen the door.
An invitation
If you feel called to give, we receive it with deep gratitude. And if you are someone for whom cost is the barrier, please reach out — there is no shame in receiving. It is the other half of the same sacred exchange, and it is how we rise together.