– Budget & Fee Rationale –
In its current form, Residenza Lago Scuro is a passion project organized one-hundred percent by the volunteer efforts of its co-organizers and the family and staff of Cascina Lago Scuro.
From the very beginning, one of the core values of the program has been to be as affordable as possible for the residents attending. Because of this, no one organizing the program receives a profit for their contributions, and all associated fees go towards the base-costs required to run the residency.
In the spirit of this value, this year we have decided to be fully transparent about the program costs - both in an effort to let residents know what they’re paying for, and to further commit to an ethos of transparency and long-term sustainability as we continue to build and grow Residenza Lago Scuro.
As we continue to run this program we are looking into what it would look like to enroll as a non-for-profit entity, while also looking for grant and sponsorship opportunities to further bring the costs down. If by chance we do secure additional funding this year we plan on lowering the program fee accordingly. Our ultimate goal is to offer this program free of charge. We are not there yet, but we hope to be very soon.
[ 2023 residenza Operating budget ]
Marketing & Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,300
This includes: Website hosting, and paying artists and videographers to help build the design collateral for the residency.
Operation fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,500
This includes: Paying the overhead costs to our host, Cascina Lago Scuro. This includes paying the staff, and covering room and board costs. The breakdown is $45 per person/per day.
residency supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,300
This includes: Discretionary budget for in-residency purchase needs. Based on estimates from our 2022’ spend. This includes group offsite activities, residency supplies, and administrative materials.
transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,400
This includes: Costs associated with getting the organizers to the residency and a car rental that we use to transport residents to-and-from the farm for pick-up, drop-off, and offsite activities.
[Total operating budget: $9,500]
The program fee for residents this year is $850 per person which includes room + board and all associated residency activities for ten days. We expect to host 10 to 11 residents. In addition to this fee, we have also made the decision to add a $20 dollar application fee. The rationale for this is two-fold:
The first, is that we want to ensure that everyone who is applying is truly committed to wanting to be a part of this experience. We believe that adding a small application fee is enough of an incentive to ensure thoughtful and intentional applications. And, if you are accepted, your application fee will count towards the program fee.
Secondly, by adding this change, it enables us to keep the program fee as low as possible, and creates the potential for a scholarship fund. In other words, every dollar over the $9500 operating budget will go towards offsetting the costs for residents in need of financial aid.
As a team, we have weighed these changes very carefully and are committed to running the best program we can with integrity, openness, and care. It is important to us that Residenza Lago Scuro is as accessible as possible to a global audience independent of background, or available resources. And with each year, we are committed to improving our efforts against this goal.
We thank our larger community for supporting us as we make our first steps towards this mission. We welcome any thoughts or feedback about these changes, and are eager to continue improving with your input.
Grazie Mille,
Alex, Luca, Stefania, & Julia