Initially, of 53 Romanian students at Czernowitz, 44 joined Arboroasa as ordinary members. It was financed through fees levied on these as well as through donations from supporters; other membership categories included founder, supporter, honorary and extraordinary. In 1877, learning through press reports that the Romanian government had set aside 1000 lei for cultural organizations located outside the country's borders, the leadership asked for part of this money, and received 250 lei. The same summer, as the Romanian Army was winning victories in the War of Independence, members of Arboroasa were gleeful, toasting the successes of their "brothers fighting beyond". Meanwhile, the Bukovina authorities received instructions from Vienna to collect funds for wounded troops from the opposing Ottoman side.