RASUR FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL

Mission: We empower champions of youth (educators, counselors, nonprofit and faith-based leaders, etc.) to transform turmoil into caring connection with themselves and others through the Connection Practice (CP). Then champions teach it to the youth they serve, who learn to ease their distress, confidently meet challenges and resolve conflicts peacefully.

Vision: As youth learn to transform turmoil into connection, they will pass this skill on so generational pain can be healed and generational peace achieved.

Program 1: Empower champions of youth through training and engagement in the Connection Practice community

Goal 1: Recruit 30 champions of youth to free Connection Practice Workshops by November 2022 and recruit
donors to provide scholarships for their next course.

Goal 2: Train champions of youth and certify 15 of them as coaches by January 2023.

Goal 3: Receive grants to fund the training track for champions of youth

Program 2: Implement the Connection Practice in Schools

Goal 1: Recruit a new school to the Connection Practice program for school year 2022-2023 and continue to
support St. Mary School in implementing the program.

Goal 2: Continue to support St. Mary School in implementing the program.

Program 3: Provide the Connection Practice for all ages

Goal 1: Complete the development of Connection Practice Boards for Children that include pictures and words.

Program 4: Raising funds for Connection Practice Infrastructure

Goal 1: Raise funds to cover marketing, salaries, independent contractors, and other administrative costs

Program 1: Empower champions of youth through training and engagement in the Connection Practice (CP) community

Strategies:
• A marketing company was hired in May to recruit champions and recruit donors to support them with scholarships.
• A CP Trainer, Bernice Aguilera, has combined the CP with Restorative Justice Circles in a countywide Juvenile Diversion Program so juvenile offenders can learn to manage their emotions and make amends, rather than going to jail. This program has been highly successful and can be replicated nationally.
• At the conclusion of CP Workshops, offer partial or full scholarships to the participants to attend Inner Wellness for Success (IWS). In general, participants are requested to, at minimum, cover the $100 cost of their materials.
• At the conclusion of IWS, invite participants to take Emotionally-Safe Relationships (ESR) and to purchase a subscription to the digital CP Boards. Invite them to join a Connection Circle for regular practice and support.
• At the conclusion of ESR, invite those who have an aptitude for the CP to be mentored and assessed for readiness to attend the Coach Certification Course.
• After becoming certified as a coach, invite those who have an aptitude for training to the Trainer Certification Course.
• Provide scholarships as needed.
• The marketing company that was hired in May will work with us to identify the most likely path for receiving grants.
• Once potential funders are identified, the CP Program Manager will work with the marketing company to write and apply for grants, overseen by the CEO.

Program 2: Implement the Connection Practice in Schools

Strategies:
• A school board member in San Jose is advocating the CP be implemented in their district. The CEO will meet with the superintendent and offer a CP demonstration.
• Once the school is committed and funding is secured, the CEO and Program Manager will empower the teachers to implement the program in 2022-2023.
• The Program Manager will offer support as needed to the St. Mary School teachers who are implementing the CP.

Program 3: Provide the Connection Practice for all ages

Strategies:
• Continue to work with the team of volunteers that has developed a first draft of CP Boards for Children and tested them in 5 countries.
• Explore the possibility of making these Boards in both tactile and digital form.

Program 4: Raising funds for Connection Practice Infrastructure

Strategies:
• Work with the marketing company to recruit participants for CP tours to Costa Rica.
• Explore the cost of improving the CO iPhone app by adding voice recordings, iCloud storage and Android functionality. Then charge monthly for it to create a regular income stream
• A CP Trainer, Michelle King, has been been approved for creating a Connection Practice business that will share profits with our nonprofit. Provide support to Michelle as needed.

• Rasur Foundation International board members, staff, and volunteers have years of experience, work harmoniously as a team, are deeply committed to our mission, and are well-prepared to achieve these goals.
• Our founder and CEO, Rita Marie Johnson, created the Connection Practice in 2002 and wrote an award-winning book, Completely Connected: Uniting Our Empathy and Insight for Extraordinary Results. She started this foundation with $1000 of her own money and has moved forward with her team each year, despite economic recessions and many challenges.
• Supporters around the world are committed to the CP. We have been excellent stewards of our resources and have a reputation for “walking our talk."
• Leigh Files, Board President, has served for almost 7 years. She participates in the development of new courses, materials, and innovative tools for teaching the CP. She is a generous donor and brings excellent leadership skills to our work.
• Dr. Ellen Anderson is a CP Master Trainer and has served as Director of Education for almost 5 years. She partners with Rita Marie in writing curriculum, developing products for teaching the CP, teaching courses, and supporting the Certification Program.
• Director of International Teacher Training, Dr. Ayako Nozawa, has an MA in Counseling and Ed. D. in Holistic Education. As a CP Master Trainer, she has shared the CP with close to 500 participants in the USA and other countries and has trained 108 Connection Practice Curriculum Instructors.
• Director of International Outreach, Yumi Morita, is a Master Trainer and professional journalist who successfully founded Rasur Japan, which now has over 65 certified CP Coaches/Trainers.
• Helen Berman, our administrator, has enhanced stability in our nonprofit since 2019. Her strong organizational ability results in greater efficiency and systems that ensure integrity in the details of our work.
• Our other board members, staff, and longstanding volunteers are equally qualified. You can view them at connectionpractice.org under “About Us.”
• Our organization has a 12-year track record of success in teaching the Connection Practice. We are continually innovating and evolving so we can support children and youth to thrive. However, we haven't invested in widespread outreach because we weren't ready to scale the CP.
• Now, with the introduction of the Digital CP Boards, we have the capacity to teach and empower millions of children, youth, and their parents. We have hired a Program Manager to move rapidly in this direction.

We are ready for the exposure and the funds that will bring the Connection Practice into homes and classrooms around the world.

As the Connection Practice advances, inner turmoil and conflict will be minimized, and social-emotional learning will be recognized as essential to a sound education. That is the world we want to pass on to children.

• 2002 - Rita Marie Johnson had an aha; empathy + insight = connection. This inspiration resulted in the Connection Practice (CP).

• 2004 - The CP was implemented in Costa Rican schools, sponsored by the Rasur Foundation and supported by President Oscar Arias, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. Over seven years, more than 1,500 teachers were trained. Now the CP positively impacts approx. 40,000 students in Costa Rica per year. Annual evaluations revealed bullying, intolerance, conflicts, violence and misconduct reports decreased after students were trained.

• 2005 - The CP won the Ashoka Changemakers Innovation Award: Building a More Ethical Society, chosen from 79 projects in 32 countries.

• 2009 - The US nonprofit, Rasur Foundation International, was founded to spread the CP globally.

• 2010-2012 - The CP Foundations Course was offered as a credit course at the United Nations University for Peace, a graduate school for international leaders. It was one of their most highly rated courses.

• 2012 - A CP Curriculum pilot at Oakley Elementary in Houston was deemed a success by the principal, teachers and students in a video documentary.

• 2012 - The CP was taught to rectors from 30 Latin American universities at INCAE, the Harvard of Latin America.

• 2014 - Summer and family CP camps were introduced in Dallas, TX, and Sacramento, CA. The CP was introduced in Japan. They formed a nonprofit, Rasur Japan and, in 2021, have over 65 trainers.

• 2015 - Rita Marie's book, Completely Connected: Uniting Our Empathy and Insight for Extraordinary Results became an Amazon bestseller in Conflict Resolution and in Communication and Social Skills. It was endorsed by Eileen Rockefeller and President Oscar Arias, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. In 2016, it won a Nautilus Award in the Psychology category.

• 2016 - A Fast Track Certification Course was developed. This made it possible to certify more individuals as Coaches and Trainers.

• 2017 - Rita Marie produced 15 live CP webinar lectures that are are now used as Self-Study Courses.

• 2018 - English magnetic CP Boards were designed, 600 were manufactured for teaching the CP.

• 2019-2020 - A Cragmont Elementary classroom in Berkeley participated in a pilot using CP Boards. A report documented the increased social-emotional intelligence of the students. The class was the only one, after going to distance learning, that had 100% attendance at years end.

• 2020 - Because of COVID, all courses were converted to online. 500 Japanese magnetic CP Boards were manufactured for teaching the CP. Over 100,000 people have learned the CP.

• 2021 - A CP Board App was created for coaches to work globally online with students and parents in any language. There are almost 200 certified Coach/Trainers (not all are active).

• 500 Spanish magnetic CP Boards were created for use in a Restorative Justice program for juvenile offenders.
Laminated CP Boards were developed that can be used for all other languages.