THE MISSION of The Ojai Foundation is to foster practices that awaken connection with self, others and the natural world. Council, the practice of listening and speaking from the heart, is our core offering.
We fulfill our mission through three primary initiatives: our Land Sanctuary in Ojai, Council in Schools and the Center for Council Practice.
LAND SANCTUARY: Our 40-acre educational sanctuary in Ojai continues to inspire, transform and nurture all who visit, hosting over 1,200 students each year for our rites of passage program along with hundreds of adults. For over thirty years, "the Land" has served as a living experiment for sustainable practices and an incubator for personal and collective transformation.
Throughout its history, the Land has hosted an impressive roster of elders and teachers from indigenous cultures, wisdom traditions and new sciences including, to name a few, Jack Sarfati, Brian Swimme, Joanna Macy, Wallace Black Elk, Thich Naht Hanh, Chagdud Rinpoche, Joseph Cambell, Huston Smith, Julie Tumamait, Rupert Sheldrake, Roshi Joan Halifax and many more.
COUNCIL IN SCHOOLS: The Ojai Foundation's Council in Schools initiative serves over 10,000 students throughout greater Los Angeles in traditional and charter public schools, as well as secular and parochial private schools. Substantial support from the Herb Alpert Foundation, the Annenberg Foundation, the Furlotti Foundation and the Boeing Corporation's Employee Community Fund allows us to work with under-resourced schools.
CENTER FOR COUNCIL PRACTICE: The Ojai Foundation is currently bringing our work to an ever-widening and diverse audience around the world. Our Center for Council Practice is our outreach arm which provides council trainings and programs in a diversity of settings including businesses, prisons, hospitals, social service agencies and more.
Please join our circle!
For further information, please visit other headings and links on this website or call the Foundation office at (805) 646-8343.
