Our mission is to spread and deepen core practices for social transformation to heal individuals, communities, and the world. We further this mission through relationship building and funding, along with convening occasional gatherings that align with our mission.
In partnership with the social, racial, and environmental justice organizations we fund, CORE is focusing on building the local field of individual, organizational, and collective wellbeing.
Relationship Building
Most of our funding is done in the context of existing relationships. The quality of our work depends on deep and authentic connections. We strive to bridge across divides of class, race, gender, ideology, methodology, and practice modality and to continually broaden our understanding of wellbeing and support related communities of practice. We invest in the leaders and organizations with whom we are in relationship, working to build mutual trust. We try whenever possible to meet face-to-face (in person or online) to build that trust. We work to balance this desire for depth with a nimble process that is responsive to the moment.
Funding
We make grants to organizations and to individuals to support communities of transformational practice. Our grant making is by invitation only in order to keep overhead as low as possible and direct more money into the community.
We also offer accompaniment to some grantees. Over the years of experiments at CORE, we have deepened our knowledge of transformational methods, practices, and practitioners. In addition to providing funding, we mobilize our networks of relationships and experience, offering opportunities for peer support, professional coaching, and accompaniment to help individuals and organizations discern their next steps, find helpful trainings and practitioners, and follow through on their chosen practices.
Convening
For more than ten years CORE convened nearly monthly circle gatherings for community members to share transformational practices and deepen relationships. In 2021 CORE decided to end our regular gatherings but we are still open to hosting or sponsoring occasional gathering opportunities in line with our mission.
To learn more about CORE’s past gatherings and potential future gatherings, see our Blog.
CORE continues to offer occasional opportunities for transformational processes for grantees to reflect on what they are learning and how they are carrying forward with new practices, and to share those learnings and practices with others where appropriate.
For example see this report {coming soon} from a 2023 convening of three CORE partner organizations to share their organizational wellbeing work.