Foundation > Emergency Relief for Yoga Professionals
Emergency Relief for Yoga Professionals
PARTNERS
The Yoga Alliance Foundation Emergency Relief Fund provides financial support to those within the yoga community who are experiencing extreme economic hardship due to COVID-19. The Fund is a global resource available to yoga professionals worldwide.
To initiate this fund, the Foundation redirected funds originally earmarked for an inaugural grants program scheduled to launch in early 2020. Due to the sudden disruptive economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, 100% of these funds will now go directly to yoga professionals who can no longer meet basic income needs.
The Foundation is partnering with other organizations and businesses in the yoga community to expand the base of resources and support. We welcome anyone–especially those whose lives have been positively impacted by a yoga teacher or through the practice of yoga itself–to consider helping support teachers’ efforts to continue sharing yoga with others during this time by making a donation or by sharing this information with a friend. All contributions are tax–deductible–and 100 percent will be passed directly to Fund recipients.
Donate Now Application Information Apply Now
A Community-Centered Approach
We’ve heard clearly from yoga professionals all around the world about the economic hardships they're facing due to COVID-19. For us, this emphasized the need for immediate financial assistance to be our top priority in order to protect and support the global community of yoga schools and teachers.
To ensure a thoughtful and community-centered process, the Foundation assembled an Emergency Relief Fund Advisory Committee that represents a cross-section of perspectives and lived experiences. This Committee’s responsibilities include informing the selection criteria of beneficiaries, helping to ensure the criteria for the selection of beneficiaries, and helping to ensure an equitable approach to the distribution of funding.
Eligibility and Criteria
All yoga professionals around the globe who are experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19 are eligible to apply for funding support. The most important Emergency Relief Fund criterion is in the urgency of meeting basic human needs, including those whose economic survival depends on their yoga teaching income and who can no longer meet basic needs such as food and shelter due to the impacts of COVID-19.
The application for support is now open. Detailed eligibility requirements and general information on how to apply are available here.
Emergency Relief Fund Partners
In order to assess applications and economic need, award recipients, and administer funds objectively, responsively, and swiftly, the Yoga Alliance Foundation teamed up with strategic partner Ivy Child International. The Yoga Alliance Foundation also is a contributor to the Reclamation Ventures Wellness Relief Fund, which provides rapid response to yoga professionals facing financial hardship due to COVID-19.
In selecting partners, the Yoga Alliance Foundation prioritized organizations whose work is anchored in yogic values; aligns with the Foundation’s mission of leveraging yoga for social impact; and fosters an expansive, accessible, and equitable yoga community. Foundation partners demonstrate a proven track record of providing financial support to communities and individuals facing monetary hardships, the capacity to execute an equitable and transparent application and disbursement of funding process, and a strong history of financial health.
Our Partners
Ivy Child International
Ivy Child International is a global nonprofit that partners with systems of education and care to enhance well-being through innovative and culturally responsive programs. In our shared vision to create more ways to support the community, Ivy Child joins forces to broaden and build access, equity, and inclusion with its worldwide network of diverse teachers.
Reclamation Ventures Wellness Relief Fund
Reclamation Ventures is an impact investing fund that invests in the development and growth of underestimated entrepreneurs in wellness. It believes that in elevating the capacity of diverse wellness leaders to thrive, we can start to close the wellness gap and increase health equities in communities that need it most. It also supports yoga professionals from historically underserved communities in the U.S.
Your monetary gift will support those within the global yoga community who are experiencing extreme economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We thank you for your contribution in helping yoga schools and yoga teachers continue to foster the high quality, safe, accessible, and equitable teaching of yoga.
Donate Now
For more information about our Emergency Relief Fund, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page or send us an email at foundation@yogaalliance.org.