1. Secondary research: YOGA-4-CHANGE
cONNOR sMITH, fRANNY mISHRIKI. rYAN curry

2. RESEARCH ON similar organizations:
Prisons
At-risk youth
Veterans
Successful non-profits

3. Prisons: Liberation Prison Yoga: Prison Yoga Project: Founded in 2014.
Created 18 prison yoga programs in three years.
Rikers Island primarily.
“Bringing trauma-conscious yoga programs to those incarcerated,”
“The effectiveness of mindfulness practices have been amply proven, but few studies have been done inside prisons,”
Celebrity endorsement and contributor: Yael Stone (Netflix’s Orange Is The New Black) among other celebrities.
Yael Stone has tweeted about the program and tagged them.
Prison Yoga Project:
Founded in 2002.
Bolinas, California.
San Quentin State Prison (California’s largest prison)
“Yoga, taught specifically as a mindfulness practice, is very effective in releasing unresolved trauma,”
Promotes “safer communities,”
“Stories From The Inside” tab. Testimonials from prisoners (some from teachers)

4. AT-RISK YOUTH: Headstand: Yoga Gangsters: Founded 2007.
San Francisco, California.
Locations in California, New York and Tennessee.
More than 1,200 students participate in weekly/ biweekly headstand classes that revolve around character education concepts like grit, kindness and optimism.
“Headstand empowers at-risk youth in K-12 schools to combat toxic stress through mindfulness, yoga and character education.”
Research shows that the damage caused by exposure to prolonged toxic stress in childhood can last a lifetime. Headstand equips students with the tools and skills to offset toxic stress.
Yoga Gangsters:
Founded 2003.
Miami, Florida.
Yoga Gangster (yoh-guh gang-ster) n. One who intentionally utilizes their thoughts, words and actions to empower humanity. Qualities include compassion, acceptance, awareness, health and willingness to grow and develop oneself and to support the healing of others and the planet.
501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to empower youth by addressing the symptoms of trauma and poverty such as limited education, addiction, violence, incarceration, teen pregnancy, homelessness and more using the practice of yoga, delivering messages of empowerment around self respect, self control, and self awareness.
Scholarship Program “Ubran Guru”

5. Veterans: Transformation Yoga Project: Connected Warriors:
Located in Avondale, PA.
Offers yoga classes for recovery, prisoners and veterans.
Claims that yoga helps reduce symptoms of PTSD.
Offers a downloadable flyer that describers the many benefits of yoga for veterans.
Works with local VA hospitals and other community veterans programs to provide their services to veterans.
Connected Warriors:
Located in Boca Raton, FL.
Offers classes in 14 States.
The organization was started by a veteran to help other veterans deal with the symptoms of PTSD.
Partners with many local businesses and other yoga studios.
Holds a Gala where all proceeds go towards providing free yoga for Service members, veterans, and their families.

6. Successful Non-profits:
Hubbard House
Cell phone drop offs.
E-News sign up (with donation link at the bottom of every newsletter).
Wounded Warrior Project
Categorizes donors and supporters.
Vision Partners- large companies like Overstock.com, Uhaul and Safeway.
Major Gifts- people and their names with how much they contributed, between $50,000 - $1,000,000 (different levels: “Champions,” “Guardians,”
10-year Donors.

7. Social media: Yoga 4 Change: Twitter followers: 637
Connected Warriors
Facebook: (127 Likes)
Twitter: (37 Followers)
Liberation Prison Yoga
Facebook: (4,429 likes)
Twitter: (315 followers)
Prison Yoga Project
Facebook: (12,111 likes)
Twitter: (3,768 followers)
Headstand
Twitter: (672 followers)
Facebook: (2,905 likes)
Transformation Yoga Project
Facebook: (961 Likes)
Twitter: (124 Followers)
Yoga Gangsters
Facerbook: (4,555 likes)
Twitter: (989 followers)
Yoga 4 Change:
Twitter followers: 637
Facebook likes: 6,733
Instagram: 3,957

8. Things to consider: Change .com to .org for more credibility.
Donors to sign a pledge to continue donations for upcoming years for constant donations.
Tweet at already successful organizations (prison yoga related or other) and ask for help and support.
Using keywords like “prison,” and “yoga,” on Google does not bring up Yoga 4 Change’s website or any relevant articles about them- consider doing SEO.
Having statistics and research to back up claims.
Using testimonials of how yoga has helped shaped former or current student’s lives.
Blogging, many non-profits blog about the work they are doing.

9. Things to consider
Newsletter, having a newsletter is a good way to keep constant donors and provide information.
Internship section on website to recruit interns.
Teaching yoga certifications, seems to be a source revenue for other non-profits.
“Mindfulness” has appeared on almost every website.
Having more personalized hash tags for social media.
Blogging, many non-profits blog about the work they are doing.

10. Surveys & Focus groups:
Create an in-depth survey on a site like “Survey Monkey” or “Qualtrics”.
Looking to compile a survey based off our research, research from the rest of the teams and research from Yoga 4 Change.
Focus Groups: Conduct a focus group within a professional business setting (looking for opportunities if anyone has connections to an older audience).
Possibly conducting an on-campus focus group.
Focus groups looking to grab donors; what do the people want to see/ hear/ feel?
Donor range quoted as “adults with disposable income.”