Since our experiences of 2020 everyone is curious about Refund Policies. We can never completely anticipate everything that may happen in the future but we can do our best to explain what would happen in several likely scenarios. From the perspective of this moment, these appear to the most likely events that result in a refund request:

What follows is a breakdown of each of these scenarios

The event is cancelled or Naked Heart cannot be transacted

Existential Risks

Naked Heart is not a business, it is a movement. The Ante that is collected each year pays for the expenses incurred in that year. I try to keep them low so that everyone has a chance to participate. The Ante collected each year does not come close to paying for the entire experience that you receive. That is because we are all resting on the backs of those who have come before us. It is the accumulated Ante from all 7 years of Naked Heart that has purchased the domes, the trailers, the equipment which supports our time in the desert. Your Ante this year will augment that infrastructure for those who follow. We are a cooperative across time and space creating something that has never been created before. That is the easy part. Here is the harder part, We are also sharing in the risk of this project. There is nothing inherently stable or predictable about BM. There is a significant probability that BM or Naked Heart will not happen each year. I can imagine things such as:

1. BM loses its event license with BLM

2. The lake doesn't dry out in time and the site is inaccessible

3. We don't get placed

4. A terrible accident happens as we are driving to the event and there is not enough leadership, equipment, etc. to make it all happen

5. You get the idea

There are three main components to your payment and each component is handled differently for the purpose of refunds:

Ante:

Base level Ante is $700. Any amount paid over the $700 (but not including risk-sharing fees) is your sliding scale contribution and is refundable 100%. Base level Ante refunds will be pro-rated across all campmates to reflect carry cost expenses (storage, insurance, vehicle registrations, maintenance, labor, etc.). If a significant amount of the Ante was expended on durable items that have utility in future years you will receive an infrastructure credit that can be applied to future Ante for up to 2 years.

Risk Sharing Fee:

Risk sharing fees are non-refundable.

RV fees:

All RV fees are refundable 100%. Even if you are denied entry.

Yurt Rental fees:

Technically non-refundable but likely to be 100% refunded depending upon when and why the event was cancelled

You cancel far enough in advance that there is some possibility 

for another camper to take your place

This happens every year and is a well-established policy. There are 4 main scenarios here: 

1. Cannot go to the event and request a refund prior to Jun 1. 2021:

You are entitled to a refund of 100% of your payments minus $25 admin fee. Note that many people want to sell their slot to someone else. Not only does this jump new joiners ahead of others on the waiting list, it also inappropriately shields fence-sitters from paying the risk avoidance fee. All slots need to be returned to the camp and re-apportioned according to protocol. Only fair.

Yurt Rental fees:

Technically non-refundable but if a replacement renter can be found the amount of their package can be returned to you.

2. Cannot go to the event and request a refund after Jun 1. 2021:

You are entitled to a refund of 100% of your payments minus $25 admin fee ONLY IF there is someone to take your place in camp. You might not know this until after we have returned from playa. You are welcome to introduce new members to us but they would need to apply just like every other member.

Yurt Rental fees:

Technically non-refundable but if a replacement renter can be found the amount of their package can be returned to you.

3. Waitlist: If you are on our waitlist and you never rotate in, you may receive a 100% refund of all monies paid, You will be notified prior to receiving payment instructions that you are paying to be on the waitlist. Only those on the waitlist have this refund option.

4.Unable to Obtain a BM ticket: Most of our members pay Ante prior to having a ticket. In every year we have always been able to find tickets for every ante-paid camper. However past performance is no indicator of future results. We have no idea what the availability of tickets will be for 2023. Prior to accepting Ante, we will have a strong sense of how large the camp will be. All provisioning will be done based upon that number. If we get that number of paid members on-playa, your payments will be refunded 100%. If the actual number is less, you will receive less. How much less is impossible to say at this time as it will take into account all actual expenses.

You cancel or do not show with no reasonable possibility 

that some one takes your place

Generally this is a situation where you will receive no refund. There have been situations in the past where a member is accepted on playa. If this happens to occur there may be some funds returned to you.

2020 Refund Policies

These policies are retained here to help past campers understand how their infrastructure credit was calculated. THESE ARE NOT OFFICIAL POLICIES FOR 2023

Burning Man 2020 has now been cancelled. You can read the announcement here: The Burning Man Multiverse in 2020. Naked Heart will return in 2021. We are on a very stable footing and we have not over-extended ourselves. I am assuming the same is true of the BM Org itself.

For those of you who have particular questions, you can find a FAQ at the bottom of this page.

The following appeared in an e-mail sent out to all Registered members 3/22/2020

Let me remind you of the language that was included in your acceptance e-mail:

"Refunds

Every year about 30 members discover that they will be unable to attend BM and request a refund. This is understandable as life can change and taking 10 days to spend some time in the desert often becomes an impossibility.

You can request a full refund (less $25 processing fee) up until July 31st. 1/2 of your Ante is refundable up until August 15th if you need to cancel. After that time, any refunds are on a case by case basis. This policy applies to RV fees as well. If you pay your Ante after the camp is full and you never rotate in from the waitlist, your Ante is refundable 100%.

If Burning Man or Naked Heart is cancelled for some reason beyond anyone's control, refunds will be made, but do not expect them to be full refunds. See the risks section below:

Policy:

1. Base level Ante is a risk-sharing Ante ($475)

2. Tiered increases beyond Base Ante are NOT refundable

3. Any amount beyond Base level that is not part of the Tier increase is fully refundable (sliding scale contributions)

Let me tease these apart. Here is our Ante schedule for 2020:

Ante for 2020 are :

Paid prior to March 1st: $475-675 Sliding

Paid March 2nd to June 1st: $575-775 Sliding (Tiered increase: $100)

Paid June 2nd to July 15th: $675-875 Sliding (Tiered increase: $200)

Paid after July 15th: $875-1075 Sliding (Tiered increase: $400)

You can think of the Tiered increase as a surcharge for avoiding risk. This is the reason that it is not refundable. This puts every member on precisely the same risk-sharing basis regardless of when they join. Clearly the least risk is to pay Ante after July 15. That carries a risk surcharge that is almost as large as the Ante itself. It also carries the risk that there will be no spaces available in camp.

Risk Sharing Ante

As stated in the refund policy: "Even if we do find out that the event is cancelled as early as May and decide to refund the Antes, it will not be a complete refund." Yes, we have already begun to incur expenses for BM 2020. They are as follows:

2020 Pre expenses(accurate to 3/17/2020)

Total Risk-sharing Ante collected: 95 x $475 = $45,125

Total expenditures to date: $34,518

Total unspent Risk-sharing Ante: $10,607

Single share of unspent Ante: $111.65

Total Carry Costs: $13,021

Share of Carry costs per person: $13,021/95 = $137

Total Infrastructure Costs: $21,947

Share of Infrastructure costs per person: $21,947/95 = $231

Now let's examine this in a couple different scenarios:

Scenario 1: Paid $575 on Feb 1.

$100 of this was higher than the currently active base Tier and is refundable 100%. $111.65 of the Risk-Sharing Ante is refundable. Total is $211.65 minus the $25 admin fee is $186.65. If this person choose to camp with us in the next 2 years, they would receive a pre-paid infrastructure credit of $231.

Scenario 2: Paid $575 on March 15.

$100 of this was a Tier increase and is not refundable. $111.65 of the Risk-Sharing Ante is refundable. Total is $111.65 minus the $25 admin fee is $86.65. If this person choose to camp with us in the next 2 years, they would receive a pre-paid infrastructure credit of $231.

There are some interesting questions on this form and I want to explain them here:

1. Donate the entirety of my Ante to the assistance fund

There will be many of our members hurting financially through this dislocation. You can choose to leave behind 100% of any refund to be added to this pool. That includes the $25 admin fee which will be added to the pool as well. You will NOT retain the infrastructure credit if you select this option.

2. Add a portion of my refund to the assistance fund

You will have a $25 admin fee deducted from your refund. The amount you specify will be added to the assistance fund. The balance will be sent to you.

3. I want a refund and I need assistance.

I suspect that most of the assistance provided by this pool will take the form of sending members 100% of their Ante. They would forfeit any infrastructure credit for future years but they would have all their cash now.

4. I want to be on the assistance fund panel

The group that decides who gets the assistance funds will be made up of those who contributed to the fund. Check this box if you want to participate.

FAQ