Thoughts about Money and Death Doula work

It was a week of mixed feelings; a review was called for (seemingly by the Unseen) of what we were planning on charging. It emerged initially through our Facilitators Group; the costings were looking low to some people. They asked that we looked at them more deeply so we called another meeting just to look at the costs. The figures you see on this website are not plucked out of thin air; we learned the art of of financial forecasting and running cash flow and financial forecasts to make sure we priced our products right. It's a fine art; to strike the price that is in line with the market but accessible enough but not too little; we have to cover our costs and if we price too low we look like we doubt our worth. "People value what they pay for" is the maxim. Long story short a combination of prayer and a long hard look at our spreadsheets and our End of Life Doula course cost had to increase. It is listed on our website at £3500 and when you look at what you get for the price it really is a good price. 

Then came the next round of important conversations about accessibility and equity. We consider ourselves to be an ethical organisation; did charging more make us less ethical? Certainly we want to be accessible financially but we also have costs to meet and if we are to sustain the work we do in this world (which we believe in) then we have to be able to cover our costs. What was it about us that led us to fear that there could be conflict between our ethics and our pricing? 

Long story short this is Ancestral. Those of us from ancestry with history of poverty, displacement and loss of land and home; of grafting, of being exploited, of being starved and beaten by the Rich; it is so ingrained in our identity that social justice and ethics align with basically working for free. "You don't need to pay me so long as you love me" is the co-dependent cry. We want to be seen as "good people" doing "good work" and somewhere along the line many of us internalised the message that this meant "work for nothing".

The breakthrough came when we realised that by selling ourselves short we also sell our customers short as well. If we don't ask people to pay enough to cover what we need to sustain our work then the work and the community around it will not sustain (except by the labour and graft of our needy selves wanting to be lovable and do good; until we burn out). What example would that set to people undertaking our courses? That self sacrifice and martyrdom is healthy? 

The fire rose. No! We will charge what we are worth, we will create bursary places and a bursary fund. We will be open and willing to talk about finances with anyone who feels called. We will admit we struggled with pricing ourselves as we have and yet we will stand behind it too; it's a wonderful course and we have worked VERY hard to redesign and relaunch it; we know you will LOVE it. 

But we will not become one of those faceless corporations that charge without conscience and without consideration. If you want to attend one of our open sessions and ask Alexandra about their journey out of bankruptcy, poverty, homelessness and how they built up their lives again without incurring debt (by the way it's not love-n-light bullshit new age privilege but the story does contain some serious miracles!) then perhaps we can be part of uplifting everyone who seeks to serve and do more than just survive in the process.

Are you ready to rise with us?