Enrollment overview

1 Program registrations by membership category

Non-members are a critical element of the Shambhala community, and in particular are the majority of individuals participating in centre and group programming.

Line chart showing the number of distinct individuals enrolling each year from 2016 to 2025, with separate coloured lines for Members (green), Friends of Shambhala (light blue), and Non-members (grey). The y-axis runs from 0 to 15,000. Non-members form the largest group throughout the period, consistently outnumbering formal members. All three groups dropped sharply around 2020 and have only partially recovered since, with Non-member enrollment remaining well below its 2019 peak.
Figure 1

Non-members have consistently formed the largest group of individuals enrolling in Shambhala programs each year, outnumbering formal members throughout the period from 2016 to 2025. All three membership types dropped sharply around 2020 and have only partially recovered since.

Table 1
Annual registrations by final membership status
Member type 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Non-Member 14,334 14,568 12,587 9,741 7,993 6,406 5,341 6,273 5,900 6,769
Member 3,254 3,024 2,798 2,654 2,787 2,419 2,258 2,428 2,158 2,224
Friend of Shambhala 913 890 872 613 575 445 403 412 347 333
Total — 18,501 18,482 16,257 13,008 11,355 9,270 8,002 9,113 8,405 9,326

2 Importance of non-member registrations in 2025

Two proportional pie charts side by side, one for Shambhala Online and one for Centres and Groups. Each chart's area is proportional to the total number of registrants at that venue type, making Centres and Groups visibly larger. Segments are coloured green for Members and Friends and grey for Non-members, with percentage labels. Non-members make up the majority at Centres and Groups, while Shambhala Online serves a higher proportion of members and friends relative to non-members.
Figure 2

Centres and groups draw a substantially higher share of non-member registrations than Shambhala Online. At in-person centres and groups, non-members make up the majority of those registering for programs, while Shambhala Online serves a higher proportion of members and friends relative to non-members.

Table 2
Number of individuals registering in:
Shambhala Online Centres and Groups
Non-members registering 1,058 5,940
All registrants 2,396 7,920
Percent non-members 44.2% 75.0%

3 Non-Member Enrollments over time

Non-members outnumber members and friends at centres and groups across the full period shown. The two groups track each other closely at Shambhala Online, where overall volumes are smaller. Both venue types saw enrollment drop around 2020 and have recovered to varying degrees since.

Table 3
Number of individuals participating
Year
Members and Friends
Non-Members
Centers Shambhala
Online		 Centers Shambhala
Online
2020 2,973 1,692 7,178 1,372
2021 2,425 1,575 5,780 1,041
2022 2,244 1,252 4,717 854
2023 2,180 1,737 5,157 1,407
2024 2,128 1,073 5,224 870
2025 1,980 1,338 5,940 1,058

4 Where people enroll – between their Home Center, Shambhala Online, and Another Center

Faceted line chart arranged in a grid of four rows (Small, Medium, Large, Largest centre size) by three columns (Home Centre, Shambhala Online, Another Centre). Within each panel, two coloured lines show the percentage of Members and Friends (green) versus Non-Members (grey) who enrolled at that study place from 2020 to 2025, with endpoint percentage labels. For every centre size, non-members account for a higher share of Home Centre enrollment than members and friends, and Shambhala Online draws a notably higher share of members and friends relative to non-members.
Figure 3

This graph requires some explanation. For each year, centre size, and study place grouping, the percentage of individuals enrolling is calculated separately for members and friends versus non-members. For example, looking at the Medium Centre row, in 2025 about 50% registered at their Home Centre, 32% registered at Shambhala Online, and 19% registered at another centre. For centres of that size, 80% of Non-Members registered at their “Home Centre”.

It’s notable that in the Centre Survey, 45% of respondents for small centers reported that Shambhala Online was not integrated into their program offerings. However, the SDB data suggests that for small centers only 30% of people registered at their home centre, less than the percentage registering at Shambhala Online.

5 Continuing participation

This section presents patterns of registration for people who first registered for any program after 2018. In almost all cases, those people were completely new to Shambhala, although there were some instances of people who had connected much earlier than 2018 but had simply not registered in the SDB since it became our record-keeping reference point. Participants who continue along a path of study go deeper and enrich the community.

Line chart with one coloured line per entry cohort (2019 through 2025) showing the percentage of first-time registrants who returned to register in later years. The x-axis shows years after first registration (1 to 5); the y-axis shows retention rate from 0 to 15 percent. Lines for more recent cohorts are shorter because fewer follow-up years have elapsed. Across all cohorts, roughly 10 to 15 percent of new participants register again in year one, with persistence declining further in each subsequent year. Percentage labels at each line's endpoint identify specific rates.
Figure 4

Across all entry cohorts, roughly 10 to 15 percent of first-time registrants return to register in a subsequent year. The 2024 cohort’s 14.3% one-year return rate means that of the nearly 4,000 people who registered for the first time in 2024, about 560 came back to register again in 2025. Return rates decline further with each additional year since first registration.

Faceted line chart with three panels stacked vertically, one for each level of first-year engagement: one program, two programs, and three or more programs. Within each panel, coloured lines represent cohort years 2019 to 2025; the x-axis shows years after first registration and the y-axis shows the percentage who returned, with scales that vary freely across panels. Participants who attended more programs in their first year show markedly higher persistence rates in every subsequent year, making first-year engagement a strong predictor of continued involvement.
Figure 5

Participants who registered for three or more programs in their first year show substantially higher persistence rates in every subsequent year than those who attended only one. First-year engagement is a strong predictor of whether someone continues to participate in Shambhala programming.

6 Impact of first program type

Using “gate” to classify programs over a seven-year period to show the overall effect of the first program registration for people who first participated since 2018.

Faceted horizontal bar chart with two panels side by side: "A single program" on the left and "Continuing" on the right. Program gate categories appear on the y-axis; the x-axis shows the percentage of registrants within each panel. Green bars with white percentage labels fill each category. Introductory programs account for a larger share of the one-time panel, while Heart of Warriorship and Sacred Path programs represent a higher share among those who went on to register for multiple programs, indicating that the type of first program shapes ongoing participation.
Figure 6

The first program someone takes shapes whether they continue registering. Introductory programs account for a larger share of one-time participants, while those who go on to take multiple programs are more likely to have started with Heart of Warriorship or Sacred Path offerings.

Table 4
Persistence by Gate of First Program
Gate of First Program
Participation Pattern
Difference
One program only Many programs
Shambhala Path 13.8% 23.7% 9.9%
Introduction 23.7% 17.6% −6.2%
Wellness, Life, Arts 15.3% 16.2% 0.9%
Other 15.1% 14.4% −0.7%
Practice 16.7% 13.1% −3.7%
Buddhism 11.6% 12.2% 0.6%

7 Registration by (Rough) Program Category

Line chart showing annual registration counts from 2016 to 2025 for all nine curriculum categories (Introduction, Heart of Warriorship, Sacred Path, Buddhism, Advanced Study, Practice, Basic Goodness and Everyday Life, Wellness/Life/Arts, and Other). Each category is a distinct coloured line. All categories dipped sharply around 2020; some have recovered closer to pre-2020 levels than others, and the relative ranking of tracks by registration volume has shifted across the decade.
Figure 7

Looking at all program categories together makes the relative volume of each track visible alongside the 2020 disruption that affected them all. Some categories have recovered closer to their pre-2020 levels than others, and the relative ranking of program types by registration volume has shifted across the period.

Line chart showing annual registration counts from 2016 to 2025 for the three core Shambhala Path curriculum categories: Heart of Warriorship, Sacred Path, and Basic Goodness and Everyday Life. Each is a distinct coloured line. All three declined sharply around 2020; isolating them reveals whether any track has recovered more strongly than the others and how the relative participation levels among the three have shifted.
Figure 8

The three core Shambhala curriculum tracks — Heart of Warriorship, Sacred Path, and Basic Goodness and Everyday Life — follow broadly similar patterns over the decade, but with differences in how much each recovered after 2020. Examining them together highlights which tracks have maintained stronger participation.

Line chart showing annual registration counts from 2016 to 2025 for three deeper-study program categories: Buddhism, Advanced Study, and Practice. Each is a distinct coloured line. The chart shows how participation in these more advanced tracks trended across the decade, including how each responded to the 2020 disruption and whether any track has outpaced the others in recovery since.
Figure 9

Buddhism, Practice, and Advanced Study programs serve participants who are deepening their involvement beyond the introductory curriculum. Registration counts for these tracks show how sustained that deeper engagement has been over the decade, and whether any one track has pulled ahead of the others.

Line chart showing annual registration counts from 2016 to 2025 for three program categories: Introduction, Wellness/Life/Arts, and Other. Each is a distinct coloured line. Introductory programs serve as entry points for newcomers; placing them alongside Wellness and Other tracks shows how broadly accessible programming has evolved and which categories have recovered most from the 2020 dip.
Figure 10

Introduction programs, wellness and life arts offerings, and miscellaneous programming all serve people at the edges of the core Shambhala curriculum. Registration trends in these categories reflect both how the community attracts newcomers and how broadly accessible programming has evolved over the decade.

(Click on a dot to see a count, click on the legend to hide a category)

Figure 11
Table 5
Program Registrations in the SDB
Category 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Introduction 2,698 2,614 2,466 1,826 1,664 1,364 2,027 2,938 2,277 1,440
Heart of Warriorship 6,470 6,463 5,502 2,701 1,403 1,351 912 1,011 1,527 1,742
Sacred Path 3,017 3,264 1,986 925 858 433 881 1,020 507 977
Buddhism 2,287 2,755 2,395 3,705 3,506 3,110 1,373 2,519 1,876 2,276
Advanced Study 9,254 2,535 2,393 2,381 1,991 1,404 810 1,978 581 807
Practice 2,780 2,346 2,625 2,519 3,304 2,927 2,177 2,486 2,424 3,403
Basic Goodness & Everyday Life 5,621 5,303 4,409 1,822 1,194 1,225 709 577 267 289
Wellness, Life, Arts 5,880 6,614 6,672 6,058 11,438 8,001 6,348 5,697 4,647 4,981
Other 7,049 7,056 5,906 5,572 11,118 6,592 3,734 2,276 3,798 3,105

A total of 1,353 program offerings were listed in the Shambhala Database in 2025 — a decline of 53% since 2016. Shambhala Path offerings specifically declined 34% over the same period, while registrations for Path programs fell 71%.

8 Program offerings: numbers and length

Faceted stacked bar chart arranged in two columns with one panel per program gate category. Within each panel, two side-by-side bars represent 2020 and 2025; green indicates multi-day events and dark grey indicates one-day-only events. Total calendar volume declined from 2020 to 2025 in most categories. In several tracks, one-day-only events now account for a larger share of total offerings than in 2020, indicating a shift toward shorter formats.
Figure 12

Comparing 2020 and 2025 across program types shows that total calendar volume declined in some tracks while holding or growing in others. In several categories, single-day events now account for a larger share of total offerings than in 2020 — a shift toward shorter formats that may reflect practical constraints on both organizers and participants.

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Table 6
Table 7
Comparing programs between 2020 and 2025
Yellow indicates more one-day programs
Program Type % 2025
Programs Offered
% Single Day
2020 2025 % in 2020 % in 2025
Practice 30.2% 429 409 84.1% 88.0% 3.9%
Wellness, Life, Arts 22.7% 433 307 84.5% 82.1% −2.4%
Shambhala Path 17.5% 361 237 34.9% 14.3% −20.6%
Buddhism 13.8% 245 187 47.3% 46.5% −0.8%
Introduction 13.5% 234 182 93.6% 94.5% 0.9%
Advanced Study 2.3% 89 31 70.8% 48.4% −22.4%
Table 8
Number of registering participants by generation
When Connected '16 '17 '18 '19 '20 '21 '22 '23 '24 '25
'07 to Jun '12 10,589 7,485 6,085 4,789 7,151 4,528 3,098 3,360 2,445 2,429
'12 to Jun '18 22,788 24,226 18,909 8,331 8,557 5,271 3,551 3,475 2,956 2,918
Before Jun '99 5,750 3,334 3,044 3,593 7,232 5,505 3,627 3,519 2,506 2,590
'99 to Jun '07 5,331 3,498 3,097 3,057 5,552 3,865 2,656 2,671 2,040 2,008
Since Jun '18 15 34 2,870 7,418 7,473 6,970 5,879 7,371 7,903 8,975
Total — 44,473 38,577 34,005 27,188 35,965 26,139 18,811 20,396 17,850 18,920

In producing enrollment statistics from the SDB, we grouped members and friends of Shambhala into five cohorts based on the date of their estimated first contact with Shambhala. These time periods correspond to those self-reported in the survey.

9 Enrollment by date of first contact

Line chart showing annual participant counts for five generational cohorts defined by their estimated first contact with Shambhala. The x-axis spans the years covered by the dataset; the y-axis runs from 0 to 15,000; each cohort is a distinct coloured line with a legend entry. The two cohorts who first connected between 2007 and 2018 show the steepest enrollment declines over the period. Earlier cohorts have remained comparatively stable, while the post-2018 cohort has declined roughly 10 percent from its 2020 peak.
Figure 13

The sharpest enrollment declines over the past decade have been among those who first connected with Shambhala between 2007 and 2018. Earlier cohorts have held their participation levels more steadily, while the post-2018 cohort — the newest generation of participants — has declined roughly 10 percent from its peak in 2020.