Updated: Apr 29th, 2026, Owner/contact: @Susanna Laanikari, Role: Organisational development

<aside> <img src="/icons/apple_gray.svg" alt="/icons/apple_gray.svg" width="40px" /> We distribute income and access to opportunity. We want to create regenerative and distributive economies that thrive within social and ecological boundaries. Growth doesn’t bring equality; distribution should be part of the economic systems by design. And for that system to keep working, Sonder itself needs to be financially sustainable.

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A sustainable business run like a non-profit

Sonder does not aim to make a profit from the work we do. We are guided by the impact we can create together. Our network-based model puts the bulk of project costs into the high-quality work of our Members and Collaborators.

At the same time, running Sonder well requires real resources. Coordinating a global network, managing finances, maintaining legal compliance, and developing our collective all cost money. We fund these through a Recoverable Administrative Cost (RAC) added to every project budget we manage.

Any surplus the co-operative generates goes back into the collective. We use it to:

• manage cashflow between projects
• ensure equitable processes across the network
• support learning, knowledge-sharing, and organisational development
• run collective social impact activities outside of project engagements

How projects are financially structured

Every project at Sonder follows the same financial structure:

• Day rates for each team member
• Travel costs
• Other direct costs (tools, translation, and other non-human resources)
• 15% Recoverable Admin Cost (RAC) added to the total direct project costs