Rethinking Retreat Center Finances
When Heather Deeth stepped into retreat center leadership after years in sustainable business, she brought fresh eyes to a sector rich in purpose but often struggling financially. In a recent RCC community call, she challenged retreat center leaders to apply rigorous business practices without losing sight of their transformative mission.
Start with the Plan, Not the Spreadsheet
Too many organizations build budgets department by department, then negotiate what stays or goes. Heather flips this approach: begin with your strategic vision for the year. What needs investment? Where are the pain points? She recommends maintaining a shared document throughout the year where leadership tracks every "remember this for next budget season" moment—because you won't remember come December.
Map Your Revenue Honestly
Heather urges centers to catalog every revenue stream—programs, accommodations, facility rentals, body work, retail—and scrutinize each one. Which are growing? Which are stagnant? Most critically: which are consuming staff energy without meaningful return? "I'm starting to feel allergic to low-margin additional projects," one participant admitted. The key is knowing your mix and being willing to let go of legacy offerings that no longer serve your sustainability.
Challenge Legacy Pricing
Many retreat centers price programs the way they always have, often relying on volunteer labor or work exchanges to maintain margins. Post-pandemic inflation has exposed this model's fragility. Heather recommends two approaches: understand what the market will bear (top-down) and calculate your true costs including fair compensation (bottom-up). The uncomfortable truth? Break-even isn't enough. Centers need healthy margins to invest in infrastructure, staff development, and mission-driven work.
Look Forward, Not Just Back
While boards scrutinize budget performance, Heather argues the plan matters more than the budget itself. She builds weekly financial dashboards tracking forward-looking metrics: total season revenue, program sales, bed nights booked. This gives line of sight to year-end results while there's still time to adjust course. As she notes, knowing your sales cycles and customer behavior patterns turns abstract numbers into actionable intelligence.
The central tension remains real: retreat centers add enormous value to individuals and communities, yet many struggle to capture that value financially. Heather's message? Hold the paradox. Know your worth, deliver on promises, price accordingly—and build systems that honor both people and sustainability.
