The short answer:  Public Council Training Workshops are open to the public; Professional Staff Trainings are privately contracted; Council-Based Programs are designed and led by Beyond Us & Them and typically funded by grants and donations from our allies and supporters.

The long answer:  

Public Council Trainings Workshops:  All are welcome to sign up to join us in a two-day workshop, led by our certified council trainers. These offerings are intended for individuals looking for ideas, practices and tools to improve wellbeing, strengthen personal or professional communication, sharpen attention and renew intention. No prior knowledge of council is necessary. Attending one of our two-day Foundations of Council Training (CT1) workshops, which are organized periodically throughout the year, is a great way to experience council first-hand and learn the context and the skills necessary to begin to integrate it into one's life and work.  

Professional Staff Trainings:  Unlike Public Council Training Workshops, Professional Staff Trainings are available for the staff of businesses, schools, organizations and groups looking to improve communication, build trust and morale, become more cohesive, re-energize intention and improve wellbeing and positive culture. These offerings can be customized to suit the needs of the client and particulars of the group. Two of our most popular Professional Training programs are for School Faculty and Staff and our Peace Officer Wellness, Empathy & Resilicience Training Program.

We also offer an assortment of Interactive Presentations, Customized Consultation, Mentoring and Coaching to organizations and individuals; contact our staff for more details.

The grant-funded programs described here include the Organizational Wellness Project (formerly Social Justice Council Project), for the staff and stakeholders of community-based organizations, and the Council for Insight, Compassion and Resilience, for incarcerated men and women learning to practice and facilitate council circles in prison. Our programming is made possible by grant funding and the gifts and donations of our generous allies and supporters. We hope you will take time to read about this varied programming and check back to learn about the new initiatives we are developing to make council training and programming available in wide-ranging settings and contexts.

The short answer:  Grants and donations fund our programs, while private, government and individual contracts fund trainings.

The long answer:  Beyond Us & Them is deeply grateful to the private foundations, government grant programs and individual donors who have provided the resources to deepen and expand our council-based programming in a variety of new settings, including prisons, community organizations and law enforcement agencies. Our development department is constantly looking for opportunities to align with funders whose priorities are congruent with our emerging programs.  We seek to build and deepen these relationships and continue to find ways to innovate new programming with available resources. At the same time, we make our work available to individuals, through our Public Council Trainings, and to businesses and others that have resources to co-develop ​Customized Programs, to fit the particular needs of their organizations and groups.  

Additionally, Beyond Us & Them engages in field-building through a number of affiliations and collaborations around the world, intended to support the emergence of skillful means for compassion-based community-building initiatives and projects – and to foster the spread of council as a practice for building bridges, opening hearts, strengthening communities and fostering collective wisdom.

Our operations depend upon the continued support and care of our partners, benefactors, clients, and allies. 

If you'd like to support our work, please donate below.