I am involved in the organizational aspect of starting a NAMI chapter in our area. For us, if there's a picnic planned, it would be family included.
The local chapters are generally all volunteer (all are volunteers in ours) ~ the state chapter has a few paid employees. Most of any "workshops" you would attend are volunteer. For example, I'm to attend a teacher training for Visions for Tomorrow ~ I would then teach an 8 week class to others. They ask I teach 2 classes in 2 years. I guess if anything, my pay comes before hand while I'm attending the weekend training all expenses are paid for (food and housing).
It's worth calling and asking about!