Zendik

Sorry about the swearing.

And I know you're just pushing buttons, dalamar. I get annoyed when people suggest that it's possible to freeload off the Zendiks.

When I was a Zendik, I was told that it cost $50 per month, per person to feed the group. Again, this was 1991-'93. I don't know how accurate that estimate was, or if it included things other than food (toothpaste, tampons, toilet paper, and soap). Some higher-ups got meat and specialty items in their diets, but communal meals were almost always rice-and-beans vegetarian (if they were vegan, they could have gotten this cost even lower). Keep in mind that they're non-profit-- we got a lot of donations of food and other supplies, and we paid no taxes.

Even I, a shitty salesman, could make $50 in one day selling magazines on the streets of Austin. We also sold animals and pecans, and I'm guessing that people paid for the Zendik demolition services as well. During the two years I spent there, I received two new items of clothing: a pair of running shoes and a sportsbra. I also received a hairbrush and toothbrush.

You can access their tax forms online (it's a legal requirement for nonprofit groups) and see how much they spend on human health care (which would be the other major expense):
http://www.guidestar.org/index.jsp
Search "Zendik" for their financial profile. You have to register with the site to access PDFs of the Zendik tax forms, but it's free.

They could be lying about their finances.. but it looks like they're actually just a bunch of fuckups.