Unlike so many well-deserving non-profit start-ups, Miracle of Love was blessed in its early years with a substantial infusion of cash, primarily from the Gamble (of Proctor & Gamble) and Pogue families. A portion of this money was spent to build up the Miracle of Love paid staff to initially very high levels, allowing many disciples to quit their jobs and effectively sever most meaningful ties with the outside world. This move helped to solidify a core group of extremely devout members around Kalindi and The Lady in Miracle of Love's early years. These disciples, cut off from all sources of dis-confirming information, quickly become ready to surrender all their time, money, and personal boundaries to the group and willingly accept Kalindi as the "Voice of God," thereby "setting the example" for future group recruits. Unsurprisingly however, insulated cult members with very few remaining connections to outside friends and family had trouble bringing in enough dedicated new recruits to support a large paid staff. In addition, Kalindi's and other leaders' extensive expenditures on homes in La Jolla, Hawaii, Ross, etc., combined with frequent spending on plane tickets, hotels, home improvements, horseback riding, fine dining, and recreational drugs did little to help stretch donated funds much further. In fewer than 10 years of formal non-profit operations, Miracle of Love was thus able to make its way through over $10 million dollars in donated funds and was forced to significantly reduce the size of its paid staff. The group has struggled financially since depleting the original large donations, and holds multiple "funding calls" every year to encourage disciples (those who still hold paying jobs outside the group) to turn over as much of their income as they possibly can. Disciples are also encouraged to give over savings, including retirement money, told they have "false concepts about how much is really needed for retirement." Disciples are also sometimes given direct guidance to find a way to make more money professionally in order to turn it over to the group. Needless to say, the extravagant spending habits of the leaders continue to this day. |