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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
about the Birthing The Future©
Birth Advocate Training

Question: How soon will you accept deposits for the training that I wish to go to.

We are now accepting deposits for trainings taking place during the next 6 months. Deposits include both the non-refundable year’s membership in Birthing The Future© (at the general membership level of $125) and the $200 the 1st installment, which is a non-refundable deposit.

Question: Where will other trainings this and next year be held?

Unless stated otherwise in the flier, all trainings will be held here at the Bayfield headquarters of Birthing The Future©, which is on the property of Suzanne Arms, in the small town of Bayfield, Colorado, 20 miles East of the city of Durango (in SW Colorado)

Question: Where are accommodations for the upcoming trainings?

Unless stated otherwise in the flier, all hotel accommodations will be at the new and beautiful Sky Ute Lodge, in the town of Ignacio, just 10 minutes away by car, and in the center of the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. Breakfast will also be at the hotel. Accommodations are 2 to a room and the rooms are huge and lovely.

Question: Can you accommodate someone with different dietary needs?

We always cook primarily vegetarian, with meat/fish included in most meals, to accommodate those who need that form of protein. By vegetarian we mean lactoovo- vegetarian (including milk products – goat, sheep or cow – and eggs). If you have a different sort of diet, as for example, vegan, we try and accommodate that but you may wish to bring some additional foods to supplement what we offer. Feel free to talk with us. We definitely need to know if you are allergic to a specific food!

Question: May I bring a baby or older child to the training?

Clearly, as a “mother-father friendly” organization we want to make it easy for people who have a baby, toddler or older child. We intend to offer some trainings that are geared for people who must bring a baby or child with them. Let us know if you can only come to a training that accommodates little ones. We do not recommend a mother come with a baby under 4 months of age, as they need your presence and attention most of the time.

If you have a child older than that and feel you should be sleeping together at night, so that your physical apart time each day is limited, we support that and will try and schedule a training for you and others with similar needs. We also suggest you consider asking your baby/child’s closest relative other than you to accompany you and care for the little one/s at the hotel. Keep in mind that our days run from 10 am to 9 pm most days. The hotel has a warm pool and other amenities great for families.

Question: When must I pay by, to be guaranteed a spot in the training I want?

We offer a Payment Plan: The total of $1695, which included 5 nights in a shared hotel room, meals for 5 days, starting with dinner the opening evening of the training and ending with brunch on the last day of the training (which ends at noon) are as follow:
1.) Our Birthing The Future Membership Fee for 2010 is $125 and must be paid first to hold your place. It is non-refundable, even if you do not take the training.
2.) The 1st installment of $200 is a non-refundable deposit, 60 days before the training. However, if you have special circumstances, you can request a special arrangement regarding when this and the rest of the installments are due.
3.) The 2nd installment, $500, is due 30 days prior to the start of the training.
4.) The remainder of the cost – $870 – is due 10 days prior to the start of the training.
NOTE: When you are letting people know the amount of money you need to raise, be sure to include the costs of transportation and, if necessary, child care. We suggest that you look at kayak.com for best airfares.

Question: If I end up paying some of the cost myself, can I get a tax deduction too?

Whoever makes contributions (you or anyone else) gets the same fully tax-deductible credit, because we are a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Having said that, I do hope that you make every effort to have your entire costs paid by a community of friends, relatives, colleagues, students, clients, etc. Just the work of reaching out to do that is invaluable!

Question: What if I can and wish to pay all or part of the training myself, or if just one individual or organization wants to pay the entire cost?

This is acceptable. However, we do not prefer it, and here’s why. We have created the way to get your community to support your being trained in part because we feel that, if you make the time and effort to be trained, that you should not have to pay the cost financially. The 2nd reason we created it is to help you start building your personal community of support.

When people contribute to your training, they feel they have a stake in your success. This is especially important when those people are living near you and are working in the general field of maternity care or health and healing. Finally, we created this plan to help you learn how to feel comfortable asking and receiving. Most of us have difficulty doing that and it’s a very important part of being a Birth Advocate and a member of a thriving community.

Question: May I or someone else make payments toward my training using Paypal?

Yes. Here’s how (and you can email these directions to anyone else):
To make a payment via Paypal:
Go to paypal (paypal.com)
Go to our Birthing The Future© account: suzanne@suzannearms.com
Click on the button for making a payment
Click on "personal", and then click on "gift"
Put in the dollar amount (but no $ sign)
You may be asked to enter your personal information
When we receive the payment it will say that it's from you and we will record it!

Question: How do I handle people wanting to pay by check?

Good questions. To make things easiest for both of you and BTF:
1.) Ask everyone to make the check out to “Birthing The Future” and to say on the bottom that it’s for your advocate training.
2.) Collect checks until you have more than $100; then send the batch to us: P.O. Box 1040, Bayfield, CO 81122. Include a note with your name and phone number, saying that you have already sent out thank you letters to each of these people.
3.) Make sure that no one makes the check out to you. We can’t deposit checks made out to you. If someone mistakenly makes the check out to you, then you need to deposit it in your account and send us one of your checks.

Question: Does Birthing The Future© send out receipts to donors for their taxes?

You are the one to do that. It’s easy. You simply print off copies of the thank you letter that we created, that is a page of the Pdf file with all the details about the training. This is the same letter that people need to prove they’ve made a tax-deductible donation. Print as many copies as you need of that page and fill each one out with your name and person’s name and the amount they are giving on your behalf. Then mail it to that person.

Question: What is your refund plan?

The 2nd and final payments for your training are non-refundable. However, if you find that you cannot attend the training that you signed up for, you can use the amount that you have paid to go toward any training held during the next 12 months. If you select a training that is in the next calendar year, we would ask that you make a donation of $125 membership for that calendar year as well (keeping in mind that you can have that 2nd yearly membership be part of what ask your community to contribute).