I am a fan of the Followers of the Apocalypse, but I do not understand how they could survive in the wasteland. Since they focus on serving the needy for free and depend on donations and what they can scavenge for supplies, wouldn't they all starve and run out of medical supplies very quickly? The wasteland is not exactly a charitable place. It just seems that they would not have the power or resources in order to maintain their Peace Core lifestyle.

They are no longer funded by the NCR

I assume that they don't pay their scientists and doctors...... No clue about this though

They have to come up with caps to pay all of their hired guards

Even if all the followers are saints and are willing to work their whole lives for free, they would still run out of donated medicine very quickly. Most or all of the proceeds from selling meds would have to go towards paying for security and feeding it's workers.

It just seems like a giant welfare project with no government backing them.....

They don't just give stuff away. If you want their help you have to contribute something, money or service such as simply giving a helping hand. There are also alot of people who are willing to give them money and resources for free. Most if not all real Followers would be working for free.

If they all work for free, are they fed and clothed by the organization?

So would you say that the followers philosophy is a semi-Jedi theme or true Utopian communism (have no possessions, work to help others with all proceeds going to your organization, rely completely on your faction to provide what they deem to be your lively needs, etc.)?

They do require you to pay them for supplies and medical help. They can't supply themselves completely and rely on others to give them supplies, such as the quest to get medical supplies for them. You can get the Garretts to give them alot of alcohol that can be used for medical supplies as long as the followers help improve and maintain their stills.

I see them as a mix of Doctor's Without Borders, Red Cross, Salvation Army and Missionaries. In a sense a true non profit charity organization with no overhead.

You gotta lay down the big caps for those implants, too.

I would imagine they get a lot of business from bounty hunters, guards, etc.

True.

But do all those caps go to the Followers workers or do they go to the organization? I assume that all proceeds get shipped to the Followers HQ and the organization decides how much food, clothing, etc. that each doctor needs to survive and continue working for them. Most of those caps will go toward hiring guards and maintaining supplies.

On one hand it would really svck to have your job dictate your life right down to how much you are fed and to never be paid, but I definitely can see the comfort in knowing that you have round the clock armed protection and will never go hungry. In an unstable Fallout wasteland, it might be worth the trade-off.

i would imagine though that are "employed" by the FotA arent necessarily motivated by money. its kind of a civic duty, like joining a monastery.

I also gotta figure, that they are great at networking. helping people sometimes means you get helped later.

it is touched on in NV, when you have to help them strike a with the atomic wrangler and they do ask you to donate chems

The Followers don't have an HQ, there is no overseeing bureaucracy that says who gets what and when. They were booted out of NCR. As far as I can tell, alot of Followers are born into it or join because they really want to help or are getting something out of it.

Julie Farkas the leader of the Followers in the fort was more concerned with making sure the money and resources went all into helping people.

In the end thow I can see why NCR wants them out. Misguided morons. Their over all goal is educate people so that there will not be another Great War. And look what they have done. They taught the Khans how to make drugs, which in turn supplied the Fiends. The Followers should have known better given the Khans and their long history with the NCR. And lets not forget Caesar aka Edward Sallow.

Well they can't force people how to use what they teach. They do a lot of good as well. How many people would have turned to murder or cannibalism etc had they not been provided food, shelter, and water. They are an example to follow, if out of every ten they help three go bad, that a decent turn around.

Well, most real-life NGO's seem to be existing just fine without government support, so I don't see why the Followers need gov't support to exist. AFAIK, they seem to be for the most part volunteers minus the guards and what have you. I'm not involved with any NGO's or know anyone who is, but I assume that with charitable donations (NGO's tend to be formed around a cause, and usually one that is popular enough to attract donors) combined with minimal labor costs (one of the biggest expenses in companies are human resources) and intelligent budgeting and PR, they can get along. They might not have everything they need all the time, but they can manage.

Are the Followers themselves not funded by the NCR, or just the Mojave branch?

I think not funded anywhere, as the NCR has the OSI.