What I did hear was some chatter from Aus/NZ exJWs who were under the impression that Lloyd and his family were in need and it would be best if they could chip in to help with what was a truly altruistic venture. They were shocked at what they witnessed.
I was one of those aussies. The impression was very much that without funding they couldn’t afford to come. Everything was paid for by others. My contribution was very small in comparison to one couple in Australia. I am reasonably informed that they were out of pocket AUD $15,000.00