Policies
Payments & Cancellations Policy
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The Grünewald Guild (“the Guild”) welcomes and appreciates donations made during registration for its programs. The Guild considers all donations to be nonrefundable. Donations associated with cancelled registrations will not be refunded. Questions should be directed to the Executive Director.
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For those participating in our Private or Group Retreats program, a mandatory and nonrefundable 3.5% Credit Card Processing Fee is applied when paying with a credit card or debit card via our online program payment platform. This fee will be applied to each payment made online.
For those participating in a Guild Program, you may elect at registration to add a donation to your registration that equals our 3.5% Credit Card Processing Fee. If you choose to add the donation at registration, the 3.5% donation will be applied to each subsequent online payment on the registration. If you would like to opt in or opt out of the Credit Card Process Fee donation after submitting your original registration, you must contact the Guild and ask them to make the change for you. As donations, these payments are considered non-refundable per Section I of this policy.
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A deposit is required to confirm your reservation/registration. The deposit required for all Guild programs equals 40% of the total registration cost.
Deposits must be received by the Guild within fourteen (14) days of: program registration (for Guild-led programs and Guild-facilitated retreats); receipt of a deposit request email (for Private Individual Retreats); acceptance of a rental agreement (for Private Group Retreats).
Failure to ensure receipt of a deposit by the Guild within the aforementioned timeframe may be interpreted as an abandoned registration/reservation and result in cancellation.
Note: Registrations made using a Flash Discount code must be paid in full upon registration. Flash Discount registrations are fully nonrefundable.
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A “change” means moving a registration to a different program or adjusting attendance dates within the same calendar year. Requests outside this scope are treated as cancellations and follow the Cancellation and Refund Policy below.
The Guild does not charge a change fee. However, program changes are repriced at current rates, and any updates to discounts, lodging, or other options may affect your total balance. A change in registration requires that your balance be paid in full at the time of the change.
The cancellation/refund schedule will be calculated based on the program occurring soonest.
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Registration invoices must be paid in full at least 31 days before the program or retreat begins, unless an alternative payment plan is approved by the Guild’s Executive Director. Registrations not paid in full by this deadline may be deemed abandoned and cancelled. In such cases, all payments are forfeited and no refund will be issued.
Any costs incurred after this deadline are due immediately and no later than the arrival date of the group or individual.
Note: Flash Discount registrations must be paid in full upon registration.
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Notification of cancellation must be received in writing by the Guild. All refund requests are subject to a cancellation fee of $60/person*, which is deducted from any refund given. Flash Discount registrations are nonrefundable, and no refund or credit will be issued due to cancellation by the participant.
The amount and form of refunds are subject to the following timeline and are based on the date notice of cancellation is received in writing by the Guild:
90+ Calendar Days before start of program: All payments are fully refundable as cash.**
60-89 Calendar Days before start of program:
Deposit will be held as a credit*** for one year and may be redeemed for Guild program.
Additional payments above the deposit are refundable as cash.*
31-59 Calendar Days before start of program:
Deposit is nonrefundable and will not be issues as Guild credit.
Additional Payments above the deposit are refundable as cash.*
0-30 Calendar Days before start of program:
All payments are nonrefundable and no Guild credit will be issued.
Refunds policy exceptions will not be issued for cancellations made due to personal choice or external environmental factors outside of Guild control (including, but not limited to: participant illness, weather conditions, heat, and wildfire smoke). The Guild recommends participants purchase travel insurance.
In the unlikely event that the Grünewald Guild cancels a program, retreat, or reservation, all payments will be refunded as cash, including Flash Discount registrations.
Notes:
* The cancellation fee forPrivate Group Retreats is calculated using the most recent estimated number of participants given by the group’s coordinator.
** Refunds may be paid via mailed check or via credit card refund to the card of purchase. The Guild reserves the right to issue refunds via the method of its choosing.
*** Credit is issued on the date of cancellation and expires one year after issue. Credit may be redeemed for Guild program fees only. The Guild will not extend the credit’s expiration date for any reason.
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Part or all of a refund may be given as a tax-deductible donation to the Guild instead of being refunded. If you would like to donate any or all of your refund to the Guild, please include the amount of your donation in your written notification of cancellation. All donations are assumed to be general operating donations unless otherwise specified by the donor.
Pet Policy
To ensure our campus is as accessible as possible to participants with animal allergies, pets belonging to guests, students, and volunteers are not allowed in Guild buildings. Pets may be kept in private RVs or tents but should remain leashed and controlled at all times.
Service animals are allowed. If you plan to bring a service animal, please notify the Guild.
Health & Wellness Policy
As we continue to monitor the changing landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Grünewald Guild is committed to following federal, state, and county guidelines. The Guild’s COVID-19 policy at a minimum complies with current federal, state, and country guidelines. Because residential life at the Guild is communal in nature, the Guild may adopt policies and practices that surpass minimum guidelines set by law. Honoring the diversity of ages and health conditions within our community, we seek to minimize the risk of community-based spread of COVID-19 and its variants during residential Guild programs.
Full vaccination is no longer required for participation in Guild program (though it is recommended). The Guild will continue to require that each participant receive a negative COVID test within 24 hours before initial arrival on campus.
Either a rapid antigen test or a PCR test is acceptable, and results must be received by each participant before arrival on campus. Negative test results do not need to be reported to the Guild. If you receive a positive test result, please notify the Guild immediately.
This community is one that values mutual care and respect, especially for those community members who are at higher risk. To further protect our community from COVID-19 exposure, we ask all Guild participants to minimize social contact in the week leading up to their arrival on campus and to employ appropriate safety precautions (masking, social distancing, etc) when interacting with others. We also ask that all Guild participants employ appropriate safety precautions if they leave campus during their stay.
We are committed to making available test kits for participants who develop symptoms while at the Guild. However, Guild supply is dependent on shifting availability. We ask each participant to bring at least two unused rapid antigen tests with them to supplement the Guild’s supply. If you test positive while at the Guild, we will ask that you isolate and return home as early as possible. The Guild Directors will review each case and take appropriate action to minimize exposure to others.
If you have a confirmed exposure to COVID-19 within 10 days of your arrival at the Guild, we expect participants to follow the recommendations of WA DOH. If you have to cancel due to COVID-19, please see our Payments and Cancellations Policy for more information regarding refund eligibility.
Gift Certificate Policy
Gift Certificates are available from the Grünewald Guild in any amount equal to or above $50, and a certificate’s balance never expires. Gift Certificates cannot have value added to them after purchase. Gift Certificate sales are final and nonrefundable.*
Gift Certificates may be redeemed for program- and retreat-related costs including: lodging, meals, tuition, studio use fees, and materials. Gift Certificate funds may also be donated to the Guild as a tax-deductible gift. Gift Certificates may not be used to purchase items in the Guild store.
Once applied to a program or retreat, Gift Certificate funds are subject to our Payments and Cancellations policy.
*Any Gift Certificate with a balance under $5 may be redeemed for cash. To redeem, please email your request to office@grunewaldguild.com and include your unique Gift Certificate ID Number.
Membership Policy
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The Guild offers four tiers of annual membership. Annual membership costs are due in full upon purchase and are not prorated. Benefits begin January 1 of the membership year, or when registration opens for that year's programs if that is earlier.
Available tiers of individual membership are:
Guild Gang ($50/year)
Centrum Circle ($120/year)
Finestere Friends ($200/year)
For churches, businesses, and nonprofits (or other groups), we also offer Group Memberships ($1,000/year).
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Each tier of membership includes access to certain benefits. Tier benefits are:
Guild Gang
A sneak peak at and early, members-only access to registration for Spring Sacred Arts, Fall Sacred Arts, and Summer programs.
A one-time discount of up to $20 on one order at the Guild’s onsite store during the membership year.
10% off the course fee for 1 eligible Guild Course taught by a new faculty member during Spring Sacred Arts, Fall Sacred Arts, or Summer programs.
Centrum Circle:
All benefits of the Guild Gang tier.
10% off the course fee for 1 course during Spring Sacred Arts, Fall Sacred Arts, or Summer program.
Finestere Friends
All benefits of the Guild Gang tier.
20% off the course fee for up to 2 courses during Spring Sacred Arts, Fall Sacred Arts, and Summer programs.
Group Memberships
All the benefits of the Guild Gang.
30% off the course fee for 3 courses during Spring Sacred Arts, Fall Sacred Arts, and Summer program.
10% off the total cost of one private group retreat held at the Guild during your membership year, up to a maximum discount of $550.
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Memberships are sold during a set window each year. The window generally opens November 1 of the preceding year and closes April 30 of the membership year, with exact dates selected at the Guild's discretion. Memberships cannot be purchased outside this window.
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Memberships apply to the calendar year only and expire on December 31 of the membership year. Membership benefits apply to programs that begin during the membership year. If registration for a membership year's programs opens in the preceding year, membership benefits, including early registration access and discount codes, may be used at that time for those programs. Benefits belong to the membership year of the program, not the date of registration. Unused benefits do not carry over to the following year or convert to cash or credit.
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Course discounts apply to the course fee only. Meals and lodging are never discounted. Discounts are available only at the Guild's standard (default) course fee and cannot be combined with the Supported, Partially Supported, or Community Supporter fee tiers or with any other discount. One discount may be used per course registration, so each of a member's course discounts is applied to a different course. The Guild may adjust any registration that does not qualify for the discount applied to it.
New-faculty discount. Every membership includes one 10% discount on the course fee for one eligible course taught by a new faculty member during Spring Sacred Arts, Fall Sacred Arts, or Summer Program. A new faculty member is an instructor who has taught two or fewer courses in those programs combined over the previous two years. The Guild identifies eligible courses on each program's page. This discount is in addition to any course discounts included with your membership level. It cannot be combined with any other course discounts included in your membership level. Group memberships include one new-faculty discount per group.
Discount codes are sent by email before early registration opens. Codes expire December 31 of the membership year.
The store discount is a one-time discount of up to $20 on a single order at the Guild's onsite store, used during programs and visits to campus within the membership year. It is not a store credit and cannot be spread across multiple purchases, and any portion not used on that order is forfeited.
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Members-only registration opens 14 days before public registration opens for each eligible program. Early registration is offered at the standard course fee; sliding-scale options become available when public registration opens. Early access is a priority only, not a guaranteed place. Access instructions are sent by email before the members-only window opens. A valid member number is required to register during the early window. The Guild may cancel registrations made without a valid member number or by non-members. Early access applies only to programs whose members-only window has not yet closed at the time you join.
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Group memberships include a primary point of contact, who receives the group's member number, discount codes, and early-registration access instructions and shares them with members of the group. Members of the group register using the group's member number. Each redeemed code counts toward the group's available discounts, whoever redeems it, and the Guild is not responsible for codes or access used by unauthorized individuals.
The private group retreat discount is 10% off the total cost of one private group retreat held during the membership year, up to a maximum discount of $550.
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Except as described under Gift Memberships, membership fees are nonrefundable. Individual memberships are nontransferable and apply only to the individual named as the member. Upon purchase, you will receive a confirmation email with the member's name and member number. Members must provide their member number when they register to confirm their membership. Benefits such as discount codes and early-registration access are sent separately, before they are needed.
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You may purchase a membership as a gift for another person or group through the Guild's gift membership form. You must provide the recipient's name and email address (for a Group Membership, the group's name and the email address of its primary point of contact), along with your own contact information, which the Guild uses to record and acknowledge your purchase. The date of purchase determines whether a gift membership falls within the purchase window, even if the Guild finishes processing it after the window closes.
After you purchase, you will receive a confirmation email. Please let the recipient know to expect to hear from the Guild and to add our email address to their safe-sender list so their membership information is not filtered as spam. The Guild will generally contact the recipient within seven (7) business days with their member number and the steps needed to complete their membership profile. Once the Guild has contacted the recipient, the recipient manages the membership and the purchaser is no longer involved.
A gift membership for a new member is active upon purchase and may be retroactively applied to registrations made on or after the date of purchase but within the membership year. The recipient is asked to complete an additional-information form, which the Guild uses to keep their contact details current.
If the recipient already holds a membership for that membership year, the purchaser may choose to have the gift purchase refunded, turned into a donation to the Guild, or divided between the two in any amounts, as follows:
• Same or higher tier. If the recipient's existing membership is at the same tier or a higher tier than the one purchased, nothing is due, and the purchaser may have the full purchase refunded, donated, or divided between the two.
• Lower tier (upgrade). If the recipient's existing membership is at a lower tier than the one purchased, the gift is treated as an upgrade to the higher tier. The difference between the price of the recipient's existing tier and the price of the new tier is due and is retained by the Guild. The purchaser may have the remainder refunded, donated, or divided between the two. Upgrades replace the recipient's existing benefits and do not add to them: the new tier's benefits become active for the full benefit year at purchase, and the recipient receives the new tier's total number of discounts, not that number in addition to discounts already received. A discount the recipient has already used this membership year is adjusted to the new tier's discount rate, and the Guild will refund or credit the difference in course fees to the recipient. Registrations made between purchase and the Guild's notification will be adjusted in the same way.
Otherwise, gift memberships are not refundable, extended, or converted to cash or credit, expire December 31 of the membership year like all other memberships, and are subject to all other terms of this policy. The Guild is not responsible for delays or undelivered emails caused by an incorrect email address or spam filtering.
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Membership discounts follow the Guild's standard Payments and Cancellations Policy. If you cancel a registration in writing 31 or more calendar days before the program's start date, the discount applied to that registration is restored and may be used for another registration during the same membership year. If you cancel within 30 calendar days of the program's start date, the discount is forfeited. If the Guild cancels a program for any reason, the discount is restored. Restored discounts expire with your membership on December 31 and cannot be converted to cash or credit. For Group memberships, a restored discount returns to the organization's remaining discounts.
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The Guild may adjust membership levels, prices, benefits, or the purchase window for future years. Changes will not reduce the benefits of a membership you've already purchased.