A Fundraiser for Our Flourishing Refuge
At a sacred nexus – water, sky, mountain, tree, human – Wonderwell Mountain Refuge calls us into the present moment and nurtures deep listening.
In the fall of 2023, Natural Dharma Fellowship seized a one-time opportunity to expand the Wonderwell mandala by purchasing the neighboring property, Faraway Farm – 170 acres of fields and forests, wells and wildlife, and a beautiful historic dwelling place. Generous sangha members made this possible with emergency loans and gifts.
Manifesting Our Mandala seeks funding to:
- secure the land purchase by repaying short-term loans
- steward a thriving natural ecosystem
- create new practice opportunities
- and continue to care for our precious main retreat building and its porch.
As sanctuary and seedbed, this newly emerging Wonderwell Mandala honors the living world, and seeks to foster wonder, appreciation and insight within it. Thanks to the magic of modern communication, our Refuge now stretches her arms beyond physical space to embrace community near and far, drawing us home to the peace that is the essence of the Buddha’s teachings. We now look to the future of this sacred circle of interdependence and the potential for its sustainable growth.
In these challenging times, our Refuge offers us sanctuary and ease. The ongoing reciprocity and care of many hearts have made this possible. We invite you to offer your support to manifest Natural Dharma Fellowship’s Mandala as a path of love, stewardship, and care that will nurture transformation for generations to come.
Manifesting Progress
Fundraising Goal by end of 2024:
$1,600,000
Filling the Mandala
As we create this path together toward our goal, our Mandala becomes more vibrant. As each leaf blossoms, we grow closer to supporting the current needs and future of our Dharma Vessel.
Each leaf and each petal = $100,000
Three Year Pledge
Please consider making a three-year pledge. A gift amount that may feel out of reach could be possible over time!
| Gift Amount | Three Year Pledge | # Needed |
| $100,000 | $33,333/year | 2 |
| $50,000 | $16,557/year | 2 |
| $25,000 | $8,333/year | 3 |
| $10,000 | $278/month | 7 |
| $5,000 | $139/month | 18 |
| $2,500 | $70/month | 30 |
| $1,000 | $28/month | 40 |
Primary Use of Funds:
Our Vision
Encroaching development threatens. Conservation easements and efforts that remain in harmony with our Ecodharma values will give refuge to our Refuge in perpetuity.
More forest and field opens the door to the sangha’s frequently-voiced request for solo retreat cabins and outdoor practice spaces.
The beautiful farmhouse has room for teachers and staff, freeing up space in the main building for more retreatants. Open space will provide additional camping options.
Commune with the land on contemplative trails and in open fields that lie just out the back door.
Dharma Teachers and Interns can be in residence at the farmhouse for extended periods, enhancing our offerings locally and online. Ecodharma and related programs will thrive here.
This precious space is a front row seat to awareness-shifting sunsets, open sky, and grounding mountains.
The Story So Far
The Path to This Moment and the Path Forward
A vibrant open field and quaint, yet sprawling, yellow farmhouse, grace the property adjacent to Wonderwell, our retreat center’s historic main building. For many years, retreatants out on walks could only marvel at this beautiful, open landscape from the road. And now the Farm, along with low wetlands and extended wooded areas along both sides of Philbrick Hill Road, has merged with our mountain refuge.
In the late summer of 2023, a once in a lifetime opportunity presented itself when the children of Wonderwell’s beloved neighbor, the late Alice Nulsen, invited NDF to purchase their farm. We realized this offer was not just rare, but that it would allow us to deepen into our core mission of stewarding a mandala of peace for the benefit of a growing sangha. It resonated with our growing recognition that we are stewards of refugia, meaning a zone of sacred interdependence that embodies sane living for our time.
Our appeal to the sangha for emergency loans and gifts to enable this addition of 170 acres to our refuge was met with an outpouring of trust and generosity. Repayment of these loans is a financial milestone that NDF must reach in order to fully engage the opportunities we are envisioning.
At the birth of our mountain refuge back in 2011, the blossoming Natural Dharma Fellowship sangha purchased not just the historic Wonderwell building and land, but a sacred circle of interdependence. Our access to silence – one of the original intentions in creating a retreat center — has been accented by a symphony of birdsong, crickets and mountain breezes. We became stewards of a thriving natural ecosystem.
This recent expansion of farm, field and wood enable us to embody our Ecodharma values by conserving, nurturing, and learning from this treasury of nature surrounding us while protecting our refuge from encroaching development. Our aspiration for this land is to bring benefit to our sangha and our community well beyond any physical boundaries.
Taking on this challenge also means honoring our responsibility for stewarding our original retreat center. In particular, Wonderwell’s well-used and deteriorating rear porch needs rebuilding. This precious place – to rest in the view of mountains and sky or gather in community – epitomizes the indescribable Wonderwell Mountain Refuge experience. It is welcoming. It is tranquil. It is alive. It is saturated with lineage.
Ways to Support
this Beautiful Endeavor
A mandala is beautiful and mesmerizing because its many shapes, colors, and adornments join in interdependent harmony. Likewise, our process of manifesting requires many types of gifts and support. While the current need for financial support is primary, you can make an impact in many ways, now and in the future.
Here are some examples:
- Make an annual financial commitment (see contact info below)
- Spread the word to your network – those who would support what you love
- Examine how your usual giving could stretch to help meet this unique milestone this year
- Volunteer to share your skills that are in harmony with our opportunities
- Have fundraising experience? Join our fundraising team!
- Our normal operating needs continue as attention is focused on Manifesting Our Mandala. Please check out our Volunteer Opportunities page.
If you have questions regarding donations or support that require more detailed discussion, or if you would like to offer your time to help with fundraising, please email .
Stay in the Loop
Check here to see previous announcements and important information about Manifesting Our Mandala. We will share the excitement as we progress toward our goal and as opportunity bears fruit. If you haven’t already, please sign up for our newsletter (at the bottom of the page) and follow NDF on Facebook and Instagram so you don’t miss the latest news.
