INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR HUMAN VALUES
The Way of Change
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Stress is ubiquitous across demographic groups, societies, cultures and socio-economic class. Chronic stress can cause myriad adverse health impacts and reduces the productivity of individuals and societies. The International Association for Human Values provides evidence-based programs that allow individuals to address impulsivity, frustration and negative emotions in healthy and empowering ways. We work in institutions across the globe, including correctional and veterans facilities, schools, universities, and municipal offices like police and fire departments. Our methods have shown up to 90% reductions in violence and disruptive behaviors across institutions with a very small investment in program implementation, saving the institutions we serve untold millions in lost productivity and creating cultures of peace in colleges, schools, police forces, and hospitals where our programs are offered.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
SKY Schools (formerly YES! for Schools)
SKY Schools is a dynamic program that provides teens with a comprehensive set of tools to manage their emotions. SKY broadens young people's vision of the world and provides practical knowledge and skills they need to realize their highest potential.The SKY Program is a holistic program that includes techniques based on mindfulness, positive psychology, social-emotional learning, character development and yoga. At the core of the SKY program are innovative breathing techniques for stress-management and well-being.
Project Welcome Home Troops
A Program for Veterans for Stress Relief - Project Welcome Home Troops Breath Workshop provides training in a unique set of natural stress relief practices to veterans and their families. Stress management instructors, in consultation with heath professionals who have treated combat veterans, designed the program. The techniques on the workshop have proven successful at relieving stress and trauma at sites of natural disaster, war zones, and in prisons for over 20 years. A recently published study of Australian Vietnam veterans diagnosed with severe PTSD showed remarkable improvement after the training.
Prison Program
The mission of IAHV Prison Program is to make a life-transforming difference in the lives of all people within the criminal justice system, by teaching skills for reducing stress, healing trauma, and providing practical knowledge of how to handle one's emotions, to help them live their highest potential and contribute to society.
Where we work
External reviews
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Our Sustainable Development Goals
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Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
To meet the challenges of today, IAHV is actively engaged in a variety of activities around the world, in collaboration with its world-wide network of partners. In the US, our programs are aimed at providing neuro-scientifically evidence based protocols for stress management and trauma relief to those most vulnerable populations.
To understand our mission and goals, it is helpful to understand what we mean by "human values." Our trained trauma relief specialists and stress management teachers are deployed around the world to offer our proprietary curriculum based in the Science of Happiness. Our practitioners and instructors come from some of the world's great institutions of higher learning, including Harvard, Stanford, UCLA and Cambridge. Human values are those qualities that are viewed positively across cultural, national, socio-ecomonic, religious, generational and racial demographics, such as generosity, compassion, kindness, good humor, integrity, responsibility, reliability and trustworthiness. Regardless of who attends our programs, we find these same traits are highly valued and integral to strong relationships with the self and others.
Our goals are as follows:
To raise awareness of the key role of Human Values in achieving a global society of peace, justice and well-being for all people, regardless of gender identity, race, religious affiliation, socio-economic status, cultural identify or age. We do this through Conferences, Symposia, Workshops, Advocacy and Education Seminars offered through various institutional settings.
To re-awaken Human Values in the individual, communities, among countries – through natural evidence-based programs, practical tools and techniques taught through an easily accessible set of curricula.
To inspire people to live and express Human Values in daily life – through voluntary service to society/community.
IAHV contributes to the 17 SDGs of the UN, to programs of governments and communities; IAHV has developed own programs and projects for special regions or communities – wherever help and change is needed.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
IAHV supports a variety of programs to provide targeted stress management training to constituencies in greatest need, including:
SKY Schools: Since 2008, more than 110,000 young people have benefitted from programs for students grades 3 - 12 using a proprietary, evidence-based Social Emotional Learning curriculum, approved by the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL).
SKY Campus Happiness: A holistic happiness and total well-being program taught over 4 days on campus which trains participants in the evidence-based SKY meditation practice, breathwork practices, yoga, social connection, emotional intelligence and mindful leadership.
Project Welcome Home Troops: Offering veterans the Power Breath Meditation Workshop, which provides breath-based tools that decrease stress, anxiety, and sleep problems; restoring well-being, mental focus, and a renewed sense of connection and purpose.
Prison Program: SKY Meditation and life lessons for the incarcerated, teaches prisoners how to manage their stress, aggression, and trauma, building a foundation for a new life.
Disaster Relief: When hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters strike, this program mobilizes global volunteers to provide immediate aid and care, trauma relief, and long-term community development post disaster.
Cities 4 Peace: Specifically targeted to law enforcement and municipal leaders, this leadership development program to improve mental wellbeing, social connectedness and overall quality of life. The program, when done as a group, helps to improve trust, teamwork and build a shared vision with ownership towards the common goal.
Other programs are available for a variety of constituency groups utilizing the SKY Meditation and leadership development, peace building curriculum.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Our teacher training is the gold-standard for mindfulness meditation and peace building. Every summer, we bring cohorts of teacher trainees to our learning center in Boone, North Carolina for an immersion and practical training that will allow them to begin the journey to full certification as a SKY Meditation Teacher. Our organization is rich in volunteer energy, and employs a small but highly qualified and dedicated staff of 28 people who bring a diversity of backgrounds, education and talent to their vocations.
We have access to three major educational centers and several smaller centers to galvanize the energy of nearly 1,000 volunteers nationwide. We offer programs for volunteer participation in outreach, program development and fundraising, which allows us to make a great deal happen with a small budget. In collaboration with a large network of partner organizations with whom we offer short-term programming in more than 80 cities, we are able to bring the curriculum to communities suffering from chronic and traumatic stress, reaching across socio-economic, racial, religious, cultural and generational groups.
We have a dedicated list of foundation funders who have loyally supported our work, including the Art of Living Foundation, the Jacob and Vera Zilber Foundation, The Angell Foundation, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the Long Island Community Foundation, the Peter Cooper Foundation and many others. In addition, we can count of the financial support of many grateful and generous people who have taken our courses and reaped the benefits of reduced stress, better sleep, increased focus and overall improved wellness and mental clarity.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
IAHV programs have improved the lives of more than 1 million people, by teaching them the tools to deal with stress effectively without medication. We continue to expand our program offerings, as the popularity of our programs and institutional offerings grow. We are committed to being there by activating our dedicated volunteers in the wake of any natural disaster, particularly as they impact the poor and disenfranchised.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR HUMAN VALUES
Board of directorsas of 01/22/2023
Mr Jeffrey Houk
No Affiliation
Term: 2022 - 2023
Madhu Kadari
Jackson & Tull
Filiz Odabas
N/A
Bill Hayden
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Jeffrey Houk
Kapil Bhatnagar
Kushal Choksi
Sneh Khanna
Katherine Winter-Sellery
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? No -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
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