Typical Nonprofit vs Service Ashram: Cost-Benefit Analysis

The world is full of need and our current system relies largely on funded nonprofits to address these needs. Without intending to diminish the tremendous value that nonprofits are making, when compared side by side, the Service Ashram reveals itself as a highly compelling investment. Its overall cost of operation is significantly less, and its dedicated output is significantly more.

Cost Comparison:

Typical Nonprofit:
The infrastructure to sustain a typical nonprofit is expensive. When you donate to a nonprofit, you are often paying to support each individual who works there, with his or her own set of living expenses - own house, own car, own insurance, own bills, own food, etc. You are also likely paying for building costs, administrative costs, etc. - all these costs eat up the investment before any actual work gets done.

Service Ashram:
In the Service Ashram, these costs are consolidated. Everyone lives under the same roof, transportation is at a minimum, food is shared, etc. There are no salaries, the building costs and living expenses are the same. The total operating costs are a fraction of what they are for a nonprofit.

Benefits Comparison

Typical Nonprofit:
In a typical nonprofit, many employees are motivated by what they do, but the need to make a living is also a major motivating factor. In most cases, employee's efforts will generally take place only during the 9-5 working hours. When someone is driven by a larger passion or a strong motivation, the nonprofit is often forced to discourage their efforts due to practical cost considerations. When presented with the de-motivating factor of not being paid, many inspired people will give up. Only some will work above and beyond what they are being paid to do.

Because a nonprofit must constantly raise funds in order to keep going, much of its staff is forced to work on getting rather than giving, and they are often competing against like-minded nonprofits for the same resources. Nonprofits can also tend to become more institutionalized, where passion becomes overridden by habit.

Service Ashram:
A Service Ashram is comprised entirely of people who have made a sacrifice in their lives for a period of time in order to give in the most complete way that they are able. When operating from a source of genuine motivation, one is often willing to work around the clock. When others see their peers giving in extraordinary ways, it motivates them to do the same.

In a Service Ashram, there are no salaries, so the motivation is never divided between self and others. There is a constant intention to give fully and to grow spiritually through selfless action. The purity of the work and the amount of dedication will more often than not far exceed that of a nonprofit.

A Service Ashram also works as a magnet, attracting those in the community to be a part of this giving experiment. A space exists for meetings and to work, and if so desired, a community of giving will grow in this space naturally. The synergies within this organic community enable all kinds of unforeseen connections. When everyone is working in a selfless space with pure intention, a message goes out to the world that something special is happening here. And this excitement is what really changes the world.

By design, the people in a Service Ashram are always full of inspiration and giving energy, and so old habits never have a chance of settling in. Instead there is always an abundance of fresh ideas that evolve along with ever-evolving needs and opportunities.