Common Ground as a collective is always experimenting with how to make money flow with joy, to where its most needed. This is why we have taken it on us to start aligning the pricing of our courses with these values and practices.

We started experimenting with the pricing model “Contribution within Capacity” (or shared / gift economy) in other courses in 2023. We learned about this approach from Miki Kashtan, who invites everyone to “give the most they can without overstretching or resentment”.

This model is in alignment with how we work at Common Ground - breaking the exchange logic of capitalism - because it stands for values that are relevant to us: partnership, accessibility, sustainability, and needs-based, among others. It also allows us to give more room to both the participants’ and our own needs.

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How much should I pay?

To help you decide how much to pay for this course, we offer two resources:

Information about our & cost structure & facilitator needs

In the paragraphs below we share how much it costs us to run this course, the thinking behind the contribution options, as well as our needs as course hosts to offer this in a sustainable way.

Self-assessment questions

A series of questions to help your reflection on what contribution is right for you.

Made your decision?

Then head over to our website where you can enroll.

Still unsure?

If you have questions or are unsure about what contribution to make, drop us a line at [email protected]

If you have already enrolled and want to adjust your contribution:

💝 You can make additional contributions here

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Information about our cost structure & facilitator needs

What does it cost to run this course?

To be able to deliver a high quality live course with two facilitators, our desired income to run it sustainably would be a net income of 5400€ (=6480 € including VAT) per cohort. This calculation is based on and includes the work that goes into:

• Re-designing & updating the course based on feedback from previous cohorts
• Facilitation for 1 month with two experienced professionals + a stipend for a possible third “learning” facilitator
• Promotion efforts to fill the course - this currently takes as much effort as delivering the course
• 15% to the Common Ground commons (read more about Common Ground’s financial agreements).

We aim for our courses to be delivered with very high quality and to be prioritised alongside the other paid engagements we do at Common Ground - we mainly do consulting work and courses -  which is why we aim for each facilitator to receive a minimum of 2.500€ net per cohort. Our ideal number would be 3.000€ per facilitator.

The contribution options and what’s behind them

With an aim of 12 participants and 5.400€ income per cohort, the average price per person would be approximately 450€. This has lead us to create the following ticket options:

Supporter - 900 Eur + VAT

Sustainability - 450 Eur +VAT

Accessibility - Choose your price

How did we arrive at this? The reality that we experienced in previous cohorts though is that about a third of participants need a total or partial scholarship to participate.