Fees and payments
IMS’s Retreat Center course fees are on a sliding-scale basis. This allows participants to pay according to individual means.
In general, these fees do not include compensation for the teachings but go toward the cost of accommodations, meals, and other operational expenses only. Teachers instead rely on the generosity of retreatants for a sustainable income. There is an opportunity to offer contributions to the teachers and to IMS at the end of each retreat. This is a practice known as dana (generosity).
The Supported rate covers 50% of IMS’s cost for your participation.
The Sustaining rate represents the actual cost to IMS to operate our programs. If you can afford this level or higher, you assist our efforts to offer lower sliding-scale rates and scholarships.
The Benefactor rate covers the cost for your retreat and also contributes generous financial support for another practitioner to attend.
If you wish to register at the Scholarship rate, you will be asked some simple questions when you register.
All retreats require a deposit on registering, even if you are applying for a scholarship.
Payment can be made by Visa or MasterCard, or by check or money order (payable to IMS). If your check is drawn on a Canadian bank, please write “USD” after the amount. Unfortunately, we cannot accept checks from other countries, unless they are drawn on a US bank.
Any remaining balance is due one week prior to arrival.
Beginning in 2025
- We will offer four sliding scale rates – Benefactor, Sustaining, Supported, and Scholarship. We will no longer offer the Mid rate.
- Only amounts paid above the Sustaining rate will be tax-deductible.
- All registration payments will be due four weeks prior to the start of a retreat.
Cancellations
2024
If you need to cancel your Retreat Center course, please contact us as soon as possible. Cancellation fees are $50 if you cancel four or more weeks before a course begins; or your full deposit if you cancel less than four weeks before your retreat starts. For any retreat with a You Choose rate option, cancellation fees are $25 if you cancel four or more weeks before a course begins and $50 after that. For weekend retreats, cancellation fees are $50/$125.
The cancellation policy for the Three-Month Retreat, Part 1 and Part 2 is more stringent.
If you are confirmed for a retreat but fail to show up, and did not let us know your change of plans, you will be charged a fee equivalent to IMS’s Supported rate for the course. (At this stage, it will be too late to offer your room to someone else.)
Cancellation fees apply if you are confirmed into a course from the wait list and do not accept. So please notify us immediately if you decide you no longer wish to attend.
2025
Beginning with all 2025 retreat registrations, full payment of registration is due four weeks before opening day, and the following cancellation rates apply:
- $50 fee for cancellations at least eight weeks prior to opening day
- $200 fee for cancellations eight to four weeks before opening day
- Cancellations received four weeks or less before opening day will not be refunded*
Weekend retreats:
- $50 fee for cancellations at least eight weeks prior to opening day
- $150 fee for cancellations eight to four weeks before opening day
- Cancellations received four weeks or less before opening day will not be refunded*
You Choose retreats (young adult, monastic, and BIPOC):
- $50 fee for cancellations at least eight weeks prior to opening day
- $100 fee for cancellations eight to four weeks before opening day
- Cancellations received four weeks or less before opening day will not be refunded*
Three-Month Retreat (full):
- $100 fee for cancellations at least eight weeks prior to opening day
- $400 fee for cancellations eight to four weeks before opening day
- Cancellations received four weeks or less before opening day will not be refunded*
Three-Month Retreat (parts 1 and 2):
- $100 fee for cancellations at least eight weeks prior to opening day
- $250 fee for cancellations eight to four weeks before opening day
- Cancellations received four weeks or less before opening day will not be refunded*
* Exception: For registrations at the Benefactor rate, we will refund the difference between the Benefactor and Sustaining rates.
**Exceptions for cancellation fees possible only for serious family emergencies or illness with a doctor’s note.
Cancellation fees apply if you are confirmed into a course from the wait list and do not accept, so please notify us immediately if you decide you no longer wish to attend a retreat.
Waitlists
If a Retreat Center course is full, you will be placed on a waitlist. It is then your responsibility to let us know if you wish to be removed from the wait list and receive a full refund.
Otherwise, if an opening occurs, you will automatically be confirmed into the course and notified. If you do not accept, a cancellation fee will apply.
Please ensure you make a deposit payment once you’ve been added to a waitlist so we know you are serious about attending this retreat. We will not be able to confirm you without your deposit. If no opening occurs, your full deposit will be refunded.
Note: If you identify as Black, Indigenous, or as a person of color, we encourage you to apply, as IMS reserves a number of spaces for each retreat for people who identify as BIPOC.
Transfers
If you wish to transfer from one retreat to another within the same calendar year, please email our Registration staff who can help you first cancel from your assigned course and then register for the new one. They can be reached at registration@dharma.org.
One transfer within the same calendar year is allowed without a cancellation fee, provided you do so before the cancellation date, and provided that the new course is listed. If transferring, you have two weeks to decide which new retreat you’d like to attend. Otherwise, we will process your refund minus the cancellation fee.
If you subsequently cancel from the course to which you have transferred, you will be charged the applicable cancellation fee – even if you cancel from a wait list. (This is the only circumstance where a wait list cancellation fee applies.)
Lotteries
Due to their popularity, admission to certain retreats is by lottery. In this case lottery information will be included in the course description. All registrations received by the deadline will be included in the lottery. No payment is due when registering for a lottery. Those selected by lottery will be notified and asked to make their deposit payment to hold their spot. Those not selected, as well as any late registrations, will be put on a wait list. In order to maintain a valid wait list, notify us if you wish to be removed.
Registration information
Registrations for Retreat Center courses are accepted online, by mail or in person. For security reasons, we do not accept registration by email. We will return any incomplete applications, including those without sufficient deposit.
We process registrations by date received or by lottery.
All retreats, with the exception of the Teen Retreat, are open to adults (18+) only.
If you register online, you will immediately receive an email acknowledging receipt of your application.
Because our registration staff is small, registering online is the best way to enroll in a program. But if you have limited access to the internet or experience difficulties registering online, you may call our front office for assistance, at 978-355-4378.
Whether you register by mail or online, you should receive further correspondence indicating your registration status within one week. If you do not hear from us within this time, please contact our office.
All retreatants are expected to participate in the entire course – this means arriving on time and staying through to the end of the retreat. Prior approval of both the teacher and our office is required for anyone wishing to arrive late or leave early. Once a retreat is in process, such movement is disruptive and places an additional burden on other retreatants, especially with regard to work-as-practice periods. Your room cannot be guaranteed if you arrive late; the full course fee will be charged regardless of length of stay.
If you are chemically sensitive, or have a disability or chronic health issue, please contact our office as soon as you plan to attend a retreat, so we can discuss how retreat life may impact you, and the level of support we can realistically offer.
IMS strives to provide a safe, peaceful and efficient environment for meditators. It is with regret that we find, at times, the need to turn someone away. Please know that we take great care in such situations – the discernment process is thorough and always with the intention to protect the majority of those who practice here.
