u/amisamiamiam

I’m looking for perspective from other Tai Chi/qigong instructors who teach for nonprofits or community organizations.

I was hired by a large local nonprofit to teach a senior/community Tai Chi class. When we first discussed the role, I said the minimum I could teach for was $150/class because of the class size and travel time. They couldn’t meet that, so we initially parted ways amicably.

Later, they came back and offered $100/class with the understanding that the rate would be re-evaluated once the class got going. I accepted because I liked the mission, wanted the experience, and the class sounded like a good fit.

The class has gone very well. Attendance is often in the 50+ range, the participants are engaged, and the feedback has been very positive. After about six weeks, I brought up the rate again. The response was essentially that they were a grassroots nonprofit, funding was uncertain, and they needed to be fair to other teachers, who they said are paid less. (none of this is true according to Public records)

I accepted that for the moment and kept teaching, but the bigger issue now is payment timing. Payments have been inconsistent, but this month it has become much worse. Their payment system sent me an email telling me to send the invoice directly and cc the accountant, so I did. I was then told not to do that. I forwarded the message I had received and explained that I was following the instruction from their system.

Since then, there has been no payment update. I followed up after three weeks, and I still haven’t heard back.

The hard part is that I genuinely love teaching the class, and the participants seem to really value it. But I drive about 40 minutes each way, the pay is already below my usual minimum, and now the payment timing is becoming unreliable.

For instructors who work with nonprofits or community centers: at what point would you pause classes until payment terms are clarified? Would you continue teaching because the class itself is successful, or would you treat the delayed payment and lack of communication as a sign to step back?

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