Financial Guiding Principles

There isn't a lot to say here, but we thought we'd sum it up anyway. Stargaze is strictly a non profit effort. The concept of PROFIT and STARGAZE are the furthest things from each other. Indeed we'd all love to see the unbinding of the two more and more in the future. Remember all the best parties you've been to? how many of them were profit makers? Marketing monsters designed for Return on Investment vs. people giving of their talents, equipment, spaces… hearts… Just something to think about.

Personally as everything seems to dip back underground, those doing this for the passion in it all who don't rely at the end of the day on the scene to pay their bills, are going to find their shackles loosened I think and are really going to have a chance to soar, and those likewise counting on making a hefty salary off the scene, are going to continue to encounter their own "dot com crash" of sorts. More power to the underground! Personally I hope the concept of "profit" gets chased far from our rave encampments.

Stargaze is absolutely not a club, we don't run "Profit and Loss" Sheets-we don't pay our djs, our sound people, our visual artists, our decorators, our laser techs, our cooks, or coordinators, our environmental policy managers… you get the picture. Indeed if you looked at the books historically in Stargaze, we'd be a "for loss" organization-indeed our first few years were only possible because of huge personal sacrifices and "losses" endured by private individuals who stepped up, dropped a deposit here, a rental there, forwarded cash for expenses there… and who made it possible. (You know who you are, and we're forever indebted to you!) Starting around Stargaze IV we put in place accounting practices to make sure the Family bore the costs more before the event came together, relying on people to cover costs up front rather than after the fact. And that's where we are today-All our books are open-we will gladly take some time to sit down and share the budget of each and every Stargaze with anyone who asks-just email us at gamemasters@stargaze.org if you have any questions!

Stargaze sometimes does have a few fundraising efforts going, like the selling for a few bucks some of the sets recorded at our Family Reunions, or some T shirts for the family, or the "click through banner ad" we have going with Amazon… these funds go directly to the overall costs of each Stargaze.

We've talked about throwing "public" parties in the future very similar to other collectives efforts in their attempts to raise funds for their own families to attend events like Burning Man and other gatherings… we may do these "Stargaze Parties" in the future-but none are on the books now. (We simply haven't had enough time to go out and make these happen!) Our family reunions will remain for Stargaze Family only-and will be non profit always as well. Everyone gives of their own free will and makes their contribution thusly. We will always do our best as organizers, planners, and teams to do the best job we can at making the best budgets, approximations, plans, "bang for your buck" decisions-to reduce the overall cost. Our summer Stargazes (being outdoor, and mostly free from huge property rental fees) are typically lower in cost (but we've talked about renting summer vacation homes as well-so its really a per Stargaze thing) while our Winter Stargazes typically cost more as we are usually renting luxury large group vacation homes/properties. We do our best to give you as many months notice as possible (usually around 6-8 months for the winter ones to help you save and get your time off). But as always, remember we're ALL volunteers doing this-so try to take that into consideration too ;)

Your contributions vs. You

One of the harder things to communicate (as if ANY of the things here we are trying to shed light on are easy to communicate) to people considering or coming to their first Stargaze is our approach of valuing YOU vs. YOUR CONTRIBUTION. Yes we ask everyone to come to every Stargaze expecting and hoping to help out however they can. We want to not overburden anyone, but we don't want anyone to simply show up, experience SG, and leave without part of that experience being the pride and fulfillment that comes from ownership and investment. I'm sure at your first Stargaze you'll notice amazing things all around you-as we do each time. Whether its incredible DJ/ Musician Talent, the best freaking sound system I've ever/we ever get a chance to play on consistently, the quality of the meals, the decorations, the activities we've been lucky enough to participate in (ranging from skiing to even skydiving into our 4 year anniversary!)… you'll see tons of people around you giving up their BEST for the family. But we want to make one thing clear-we value YOU more than your contribution. We'd rather have YOU at Stargaze, than your soundsystem/djsetup/laser/cooking skillz/ etc. This is a key thing to understand.

We've been doing this long enough to realize that if you are stressing too much about your contribution, then its going to remain stressful and not as fun and not-at-peace-as-you-should-be about it the entire time. If in doubt, like we said before just come and help out in another fashion or way. Karma or fate or whatever you call it will provide what we need for us. If you feel the need to have to be compensated financially for your contributions (besides direct costs like-rentals of trucks to get equipment up, costs for the food you are preparing, costs of the first aid kit we need for our Team Karma)-please don't contribute that way and find another way.

When you are at Stargaze, and you see people working hard, or see the fruits of peoples previous labor and planning-THANK THEM! Whether its giving the sound guys a big hug, a hug to the DJs that just played a kick ass set, or the people preparing food for you, cleaning up the sleeping areas, and (fill in blank) a million other things-realize that they aren't being compensated for their efforts-they are doing it out of a true commitment of a labor for love to and for you. And we hope that their attitudes and approaches rub off on you!

"I had arrived there with no words or images in the depths of my consciousness, into this secret and limitless life of the desert. And little by little, beyond the unique aesthetic fascination, I rediscovered something ancient inside myself, by the contact with these landscapes which are at once pitiless and soothing, savage and gentle. The power of emotion was being reborn, like an inner song." Daniéle Romatet- Retour d'Océan

Full Participation and Investment

Another thing we feel very strongly about is the concept of full investment and participation, especially as it relates to each and every one of our family reunions. What we've learned over the years that there is always a wide range of experiences available for people coming to a reunion. Remember those junior high/high school ski trips and other multi day long outings? The longer the stay, the more you got to experience. Its kind of the same way with our Family Reunions. We give you enough notice so that MOST of you (there are always exceptions…right!?) have the time to get the time off, and plan financially for the next family reunion.

Imagine the difference in the overall Stargaze between someone who arrives on a Friday night late and just basically goes right to sleep, is able to hang out for part of the activities Saturday afternoon, and then takes off Sunday afternoon before our Family Dinner…….and…. someone that arrives with the rest of us Wednesday after work, gets some sleep, spends Thursday socially with everyone helping get all the dance, music and community areas setup, enjoys our cocktail/social hour Thursday night, goes and participates in the activities Friday (skiing,boarding,etc), enjoys the opening ceremonies and the "first" night of music with us (indeed the music's been going in the chill area since we arrived Wed night), goes and plays again with another activity Saturday day, and enjoys the "final" night of music for us (indeed the music usually goes in the chill area until we leave on Monday), sticks around for our family style dinner Sunday night, and helps us clean up and check out of our property on time on Monday.

Imagine the difference in what "Stargaze" is to the two different cases above. It's a worlds of difference! If its in your ability, please try to set aside the time for our family reunions! its only a few weekdays a year-and well worth it I venture to bet. We want to go to all this effort for people to whom Stargaze is THIS special of an event to set aside this time and financial planning. Also realize that our most heavy burdens are borne upon checkout and cleaning of our gathering-when sometimes the burden of 120 people has in the past been carried a dozen people-and also on checking to make sure we get the different areas setup so that everyone can go ski/sled/board and not have to worry about the music starting on time on Friday night. Just take this as my personal plea to everyone coming to their first Stargaze (and everyone thereafter) you owe it to yourself, and to us, to give it as much as you can-because you'll get tenfold out of it what you put into it!

"Courage charms us, because it indicates that a man loves an idea better than allthings in the world, that he is thinking neither of his bed, nor his money, but will venture all to put in act the invisible thought of his mind" - Ralph Emerson (Journals)

It Should always be Fun

This is pretty simple to understand. There should be, for everyone in the family, a good balance between contribution, work, and effort…. and the pure joy and fun and excitement at each Stargaze Family Reunion. If you are on a team or working towards something and begin to feel a weight holding you down that's really preventing you from moving forward, or especially having peace about it, a cheerful heart, and patience as is required from all of us to make these things work together.. take a step back and reach out either to your team lead or to us at gamemasters@stargaze.org and we'll see what we can do. Please please please don't take on so much that your own Stargaze experience will be defined by the work or effort you had to put into it-if you don't or aren't experiencing the joy, happiness, connection, and magic each and every Stargaze, you might want to figure out why…

It should always be fun! remember this! If its not, something is broken…

KäYah Let us be whatever Can light our paths To a brighter way… Seek peace In pieces of Light You let inside, Whether it be Light of day Or Light of night, Find a peace in you And keep it Alive! (written and spoken during opening ceremonies at Stargaze IV by Drew)

Bigger Picture, Outside the Reunion Stuff

There is a bigger perspective to Stargaze than just the reunions themselves. Its our hope that we not only make these family reunions happen twice a year, but that more importantly the "family" happens in and all around them! From our growth philosophies to how we go about choosing our activities… its our most sincere hope that the "rave" doesn't stop at Stargaze. We have Family in all sorts of different areas now-from San Diego, Orange County, LA, the Central Coast, the Bay Area, and even in Colorado now! You'll find that while our "official" gatherings are only twice a year, we get together A LOT more. The family typically gathers for an annual Halloween, Valentines Day, and Christmas get together. The Breeds down in Socal host the regular "Grub n Beats" get togethers, and in Norcal we enjoy everything from Southpark nights, to "Sundays of Slack" when everyone gets together, spins, and basically "slacks" in the best and truest sense of the word ;)

We even have a sister raving family down in LA-the Stormriders… you can learn more about them in our Links section on our website. We're very close to them, and regularly get together with them to throw events-all non profit, non commercial, very underground-sometimes several times a year. From desert parties, to forest parties, to beach parties, to camping climbing and hiking trips in Yosemite, to kayaking trips in LA and Santa Cruz… BBQs, keggers…. there will be plenty of times for everyone to keep our connections friendships and relationships going. Its our best hope that we truly do step outside of the paradigm of having relationships with people at raves, to having relationships with "ravers" in real life… for many many years to come.

"We take these risks not to escape life, but to prevent life from escaping us"

Index About Us Home Philosophy and Thoughts PT II

		*Financial Guiding Principles* There isn't a lot to say here, but we thought we'd sum it up anyway. Stargaze is strictly a non profit effort. The concept of PROFIT and STARGAZE are the furthest things from each other. Indeed we'd all love to see the unbinding of the two more and more in the future. Remember all the best parties you've been to? how many of them were profit makers? Marketing monsters designed for Return on Investment vs. people giving of their talents, equipment, spaces… hearts… Just something to think about. Personally as everything seems to dip back underground, those doing this for the passion in it all who don't rely at the end of the day on the scene to pay their bills, are going to find their shackles loosened I think and are really going to have a chance to soar, and those likewise counting on making a hefty salary off the scene, are going to continue to encounter their own "dot com crash" of sorts. More power to the underground! Personally I hope the concept of "profit" gets chased far from our rave encampments. Stargaze is absolutely not a club, we don't run "Profit and Loss" Sheets-we don't pay our djs, our sound people, our visual artists, our decorators, our laser techs, our cooks, or coordinators, our environmental policy managers… you get the picture. Indeed if you looked at the books historically in Stargaze, we'd be a "for loss" organization-indeed our first few years were only possible because of huge personal sacrifices and "losses" endured by private individuals who stepped up, dropped a deposit here, a rental there, forwarded cash for expenses there… and who made it possible. (You know who you are, and we're forever indebted to you!) Starting around Stargaze IV we put in place accounting practices to make sure the Family bore the costs more before the event came together, relying on people to cover costs up front rather than after the fact. And that's where we are today-All our books are open-we will gladly take some time to sit down and share the budget of each and every Stargaze with anyone who asks-just email us at gamemasters@stargaze.org if you have any questions! Stargaze sometimes does have a few fundraising efforts going, like the selling for a few bucks some of the sets recorded at our Family Reunions, or some T shirts for the family, or the "click through banner ad" we have going with Amazon… these funds go directly to the overall costs of each Stargaze. We've talked about throwing "public" parties in the future very similar to other collectives efforts in their attempts to raise funds for their own families to attend events like Burning Man and other gatherings… we may do these "Stargaze Parties" in the future-but none are on the books now. (We simply haven't had enough time to go out and make these happen!) Our family reunions will remain for Stargaze Family only-and will be non profit always as well. Everyone gives of their own free will and makes their contribution thusly. We will always do our best as organizers, planners, and teams to do the best job we can at making the best budgets, approximations, plans, "bang for your buck" decisions-to reduce the overall cost. Our summer Stargazes (being outdoor, and mostly free from huge property rental fees) are typically lower in cost (but we've talked about renting summer vacation homes as well-so its really a per Stargaze thing) while our Winter Stargazes typically cost more as we are usually renting luxury large group vacation homes/properties. We do our best to give you as many months notice as possible (usually around 6-8 months for the winter ones to help you save and get your time off). But as always, remember we're ALL volunteers doing this-so try to take that into consideration too ;) *Your contributions vs. You* One of the harder things to communicate (as if ANY of the things here we are trying to shed light on are easy to communicate) to people considering or coming to their first Stargaze is our approach of valuing YOU vs. YOUR CONTRIBUTION. Yes we ask everyone to come to every Stargaze expecting and hoping to help out however they can. We want to not overburden anyone, but we don't want anyone to simply show up, experience SG, and leave without part of that experience being the pride and fulfillment that comes from ownership and investment. I'm sure at your first Stargaze you'll notice amazing things all around you-as we do each time. Whether its incredible DJ/ Musician Talent, the best freaking sound system I've ever/we ever get a chance to play on consistently, the quality of the meals, the decorations, the activities we've been lucky enough to participate in (ranging from skiing to even skydiving into our 4 year anniversary!)… you'll see tons of people around you giving up their BEST for the family. But we want to make one thing clear-we value YOU more than your contribution. We'd rather have YOU at Stargaze, than your soundsystem/djsetup/laser/cooking skillz/ etc. This is a key thing to understand. We've been doing this long enough to realize that if you are stressing too much about your contribution, then its going to remain stressful and not as fun and not-at-peace-as-you-should-be about it the entire time. If in doubt, like we said before just come and help out in another fashion or way. Karma or fate or whatever you call it will provide what we need for us. If you feel the need to have to be compensated financially for your contributions (besides direct costs like-rentals of trucks to get equipment up, costs for the food you are preparing, costs of the first aid kit we need for our Team Karma)-please don't contribute that way and find another way. When you are at Stargaze, and you see people working hard, or see the fruits of peoples previous labor and planning-THANK THEM! Whether its giving the sound guys a big hug, a hug to the DJs that just played a kick ass set, or the people preparing food for you, cleaning up the sleeping areas, and (fill in blank) a million other things-realize that they aren't being compensated for their efforts-they are doing it out of a true commitment of a labor for love to and for you. And we hope that their attitudes and approaches rub off on you! "I had arrived there with no words or images in the depths of my consciousness, into this secret and limitless life of the desert. And little by little, beyond the unique aesthetic fascination, I rediscovered something ancient inside myself, by the contact with these landscapes which are at once pitiless and soothing, savage and gentle. The power of emotion was being reborn, like an inner song." Daniéle Romatet- Retour d'Océan *Full Participation and Investment* Another thing we feel very strongly about is the concept of full investment and participation, especially as it relates to each and every one of our family reunions. What we've learned over the years that there is always a wide range of experiences available for people coming to a reunion. Remember those junior high/high school ski trips and other multi day long outings? The longer the stay, the more you got to experience. Its kind of the same way with our Family Reunions. We give you enough notice so that MOST of you (there are always exceptions…right!?) have the time to get the time off, and plan financially for the next family reunion. Imagine the difference in the overall Stargaze between someone who arrives on a Friday night late and just basically goes right to sleep, is able to hang out for part of the activities Saturday afternoon, and then takes off Sunday afternoon before our Family Dinner…….and…. someone that arrives with the rest of us Wednesday after work, gets some sleep, spends Thursday socially with everyone helping get all the dance, music and community areas setup, enjoys our cocktail/social hour Thursday night, goes and participates in the activities Friday (skiing,boarding,etc), enjoys the opening ceremonies and the "first" night of music with us (indeed the music's been going in the chill area since we arrived Wed night), goes and plays again with another activity Saturday day, and enjoys the "final" night of music for us (indeed the music usually goes in the chill area until we leave on Monday), sticks around for our family style dinner Sunday night, and helps us clean up and check out of our property on time on Monday. Imagine the difference in what "Stargaze" is to the two different cases above. It's a worlds of difference! If its in your ability, please try to set aside the time for our family reunions! its only a few weekdays a year-and well worth it I venture to bet. We want to go to all this effort for people to whom Stargaze is THIS special of an event to set aside this time and financial planning. Also realize that our most heavy burdens are borne upon checkout and cleaning of our gathering-when sometimes the burden of 120 people has in the past been carried a dozen people-and also on checking to make sure we get the different areas setup so that everyone can go ski/sled/board and not have to worry about the music starting on time on Friday night. Just take this as my personal plea to everyone coming to their first Stargaze (and everyone thereafter) you owe it to yourself, and to us, to give it as much as you can-because you'll get tenfold out of it what you put into it! "Courage charms us, because it indicates that a man loves an idea better than allthings in the world, that he is thinking neither of his bed, nor his money, but will venture all to put in act the invisible thought of his mind" - Ralph Emerson (Journals) *It Should always be Fun* This is pretty simple to understand. There should be, for everyone in the family, a good balance between contribution, work, and effort…. and the pure joy and fun and excitement at each Stargaze Family Reunion. If you are on a team or working towards something and begin to feel a weight holding you down that's really preventing you from moving forward, or especially having peace about it, a cheerful heart, and patience as is required from all of us to make these things work together.. take a step back and reach out either to your team lead or to us at gamemasters@stargaze.org and we'll see what we can do. Please please please don't take on so much that your own Stargaze experience will be defined by the work or effort you had to put into it-if you don't or aren't experiencing the joy, happiness, connection, and magic each and every Stargaze, you might want to figure out why… It should always be fun! remember this! If its not, something is broken… KäYah Let us be whatever Can light our paths To a brighter way… Seek peace In pieces of Light You let inside, Whether it be Light of day Or Light of night, Find a peace in you And keep it Alive! (written and spoken during opening ceremonies at Stargaze IV by Drew) *Bigger Picture, Outside the Reunion Stuff* There is a bigger perspective to Stargaze than just the reunions themselves. Its our hope that we not only make these family reunions happen twice a year, but that more importantly the "family" happens in and all around them! From our growth philosophies to how we go about choosing our activities… its our most sincere hope that the "rave" doesn't stop at Stargaze. We have Family in all sorts of different areas now-from San Diego, Orange County, LA, the Central Coast, the Bay Area, and even in Colorado now! You'll find that while our "official" gatherings are only twice a year, we get together A LOT more. The family typically gathers for an annual Halloween, Valentines Day, and Christmas get together. The Breeds down in Socal host the regular "Grub n Beats" get togethers, and in Norcal we enjoy everything from Southpark nights, to "Sundays of Slack" when everyone gets together, spins, and basically "slacks" in the best and truest sense of the word ;) We even have a sister raving family down in LA-the Stormriders… you can learn more about them in our Links section on our website. We're very close to them, and regularly get together with them to throw events-all non profit, non commercial, very underground-sometimes several times a year. From desert parties, to forest parties, to beach parties, to camping climbing and hiking trips in Yosemite, to kayaking trips in LA and Santa Cruz… BBQs, keggers…. there will be plenty of times for everyone to keep our connections friendships and relationships going. Its our best hope that we truly do step outside of the paradigm of having relationships with people at raves, to having relationships with "ravers" in real life… for many many years to come. "We take these risks not to escape life, but to prevent life from escaping us"