T
ThomasEugene
Guest
i am just wondering how religious communities, most especially the new one, support themselves financially. Any thoughts? Thank you very much!
- Status
C
curlycool89
Guest
It depends on what kind of community they are. Some monastics will sell goods that they make (like produce or something) to make money. Some rely entirely on donations from people (I think some Franciscans are like this). Some work jobs that make the community money. That could be something like teaching (like the Jesuits or the Basilians). So the school pays the person, who turns the wage over to their community.i am just wondering how religious communities, most especially the new one, support themselves financially. Any thoughts? Thank you very much!
P
puzzleannie
Guest
all kinds of ways, and the bishop of the diocese will generally require that a new order must, among other conditions, prove they can be self-supporting.i am just wondering how religious communities, most especially the new one, support themselves financially. Any thoughts? Thank you very much!
We are working to come up with ways a branch of contemplative sisters from Mexico can support themselves, as their income stream, for no fault of theirs, a simply economics fact, has dried up.
There is a website that is a marketplace for food, craft items and gifts produced by various monasteries and orders–there is no better coffee you will find any where btw than from the monks, not to mention some of the world’s finest liquors, cheeses and so forth. Others bake communion hosts, and I heard of one that is about to go national with specialty cookies, make candles and other liturgical items. Some have web-based businesses. One used to print parish bulletins but lost their income when other methods became more economical.
some run retreat and conference centers, often utilizing buildings and grounds that are now too big for them since their membership has shrunken.
Others have members out doing pastoral, school, hospital and other work for salary, which is paid to the order in return for living expenses or stipends.
Some are successfully supported by donations, but those usually have endowments.
L
Ljrm18
Guest
That’s a good question! I work in a convent that was developed in the late 1800’s originally and they started a private boarding school with the sisters as teachers. And that was how they supported themselves.
Now, on the campus here, there is a high school, a middle school, a grade school, an early learning school and a nursing home. They’re all private and the organization is a non-profit, so everything that is made on campus is distributed out again to employees, etc. The schools are actually known as one of the best in the state. The parents who pay tuition all say how it’s so expensive (which it kind of is), but then they say that it is absolutely worth it!
I know there are also a few sisters who have become nurses, psychologists, accountants, and give their income to the convent.
Now, on the campus here, there is a high school, a middle school, a grade school, an early learning school and a nursing home. They’re all private and the organization is a non-profit, so everything that is made on campus is distributed out again to employees, etc. The schools are actually known as one of the best in the state. The parents who pay tuition all say how it’s so expensive (which it kind of is), but then they say that it is absolutely worth it!
I know there are also a few sisters who have become nurses, psychologists, accountants, and give their income to the convent.
- Status