Where can a non-profit get funding if it has all volunteers?

[Seth Tandett]

My mother lives at a Buddhist retreat in NC. It is a spot where folks from all over the world travel to study Buddhism and participate in related activities. I'm not exactly in tuned with what happens there, but my mom reached out to me to see if I could help in anyway. They are trying to raise $150K to keep the property operational for the remainder of the year. Hopefully by then, folks will be traveling again and the retreat can go back to in-person events.

Since all the people that work there are volunteers, they have been told the PPP doesn't apply to them. Is there anything else out there they should be looking into? It seems like this situation is unique, but I'm thinking there are a lot of organizations out there like this.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Best,
Seth

[Taylor L.]

Have they considered reaching out to their client list to ask for donations? It might be tough to get the full $150k, but it's a start. They wouldn't be the only nonprofit religious organization to do so. 

Maybe ask folks to pay for an event next year in advance? 

A membership mindfulness/group meditation program, where you and a group of others get on a Zoom call with a meditation teacher and do a group sit? 

Shoot, people pay an arm and a leg for Headspace, they'd kick in $5 or $10 a month for daily group meditations. Depending on the size of their client base that may or may not be a viable way to raise capital. If they make it clear that they need money, folks might throw a bit more in the hat.

Many of us are lonely and working from home, connecting with others on a Zoom call each morning before work would be nice!

Also it would be good to figure out what that $150k means. Is that "we'll be safe with this" or "This is the bare minimum we need in order to keep this place afloat until next year"