Supporting the Center

The Practice of Generosity at Common Ground

Continuing in the tradition of Buddhist monasteries in Southeast Asia, all programs at Common Ground are offered free of charge in the spirit of generosity. This offering is possible because of the generosity of people like you—from the Buddha on down to all the people in our community—who contribute their practice, time, and financial resources to support the continuation of the center. All donations to Common Ground are tax-deductible.

DONATING ONLINE

To make a gift online, either specify a one-time donation or a recurring donation in the form below. Payments are processed through Paypal but you can donate without having a Paypal account.

It’s important to make sure you designate your gift correctly using the Teacher/Fund write-in box. Otherwise, your donation won’t support the teachers or fund you intended.

Note: the receipt you receive from Paypal won’t list the teacher or fund, but rest assured, if you type it in below, we will see it and designate the funds accordingly. Thanks!

Teachers:

  • If you’d like to donate in support of Mark Nunberg or Shelly Graf, no need to designate your gift. Mark and Shelly are Staff Dharma Teachers and receive a salary each year set by the board of directors. Any undesignated donations will go to our general fund, out of which we pay staff compensation and our operating costs.
  • If you’d like to support another teacher besides Mark or Shelly, please enter the name of the teacher(s) whose program you attended. The center offers stipends to our teachers that are approximately two-thirds of the total donations given to Common Ground for that program.

  • Dharma Teachers: Pamela Ayo Yetunde, Wynn Fricke, Ramesh Sairam, Gabe Keller Flores, Stacy McClendon, Gail Iverson, Patrice Koelsch, Merra Young, Jean Haley
  • Lovingkindness Practice Group teachers: Stacy McClendon
  • Mindful Self-Compassion Teachers: Jane Rauenhorst & Jean Haley
  • Mindfulness, Recovery, & the Twelve Steps Teachers: Charlie B, Rob R, April H, Marc J, Spruce K, Mary G, Sharon S, Emil J
  • MBSR-Based Mindfulness Practice: Nancy Boros
  • Yoga Teachers:  Myra Rucker, Nancy Boler
  • Qigong Teachers: Autumn Compton, Steve Compton
  • InterPlay: Spruce Krause
  • Guest Teachers: Rebecca Bradshaw

Funds:

  • If you’d like to support Common Ground Retreat Center, please enter “Retreat Center”.

One Time Donation

Teacher/Fund

Recurring Donation

How often would you like your donation to recur?
How many times would you like this to recur? (including this payment)
Enter your donation amount
Teacher/Fund

OTHER WAYS TO DONATE

  • Mailing a check. You may mail your gift to: Common Ground Meditation Center, 2700 E. 26th St., Minneapolis, MN 55406. Be sure to write the name of the teacher on the memo line.
  • Scheduling a regular electronic deduction from your bank account helps simplify the center’s bookkeeping.  It’s easier for us if the bank can send a paper check. All you need to do is to give your bank our mailing address. Most banks don’t charge for this service.
    The address is:
    Common Ground Meditation Center
    2700 E. 26th Street
    Minneapolis, MN 55406
  • Sending money with PayPal.  If you have a PayPal account you can send a donation directly to bookkeeper@commongroundmeditation.org. Tip: The PayPal mobile app makes it quite easy to donate and designate your donation.
  • For your reference, Common Ground’s EIN is 33-1021914.

THE PRACTICE OF DANA

Generosity or “dana” as spiritual practice invites us to explore the effects of giving and receiving freely. Mindful giving and receiving frees the heart of clinging. It is an opportunity to see fear, greed, and confusion, as well as the basic goodness of a generous act, which leads to both joy and wisdom.

Because each person’s circumstances are different, we do not provide suggested donations or constant reminders to give. The center, however, is completely dependent on your gifts. Your contributions pay for all the center’s expenses: maintaining the center’s building, our administrative staff, and Mark Nunberg and Shelly Graf’s support as the Guiding Teachers. Other teachers at the center receive support based on the contributions offered at their programs; they receive two-thirds and the other third is used to support the Center’s operations.

More reflections on generosity: An article by Mark Nunberg, Generosity: The Art of Being Happy. 
Reflections and stories from teachers and community members.

VOLUNTEERING

Volunteering is another way to express generosity. Volunteers take care of many day-to-day operations at the center, such as: cleaning, maintenance, audio recording, tech support, gardening, snow removal, and office work. Please fill out this form if you have time and skills you would like to contribute.

A flowering of volunteers circa 2017.