2022 Program Impact

With the help of the generous donations and support from our community, our programs offered healing, support, and resources to hundreds of thousands of people world wide. In 2022, Commonweal program directors and staff:

Launched the CancerChoices website, a completely remade web platform that provides independent, science-backed resources to help people with cancer, caregivers, and healthcare professionals understand choices in integrating conventional, complementary, and self care to improve cancer outcomes.

Established a fellowship program to support young visionary leaders in the Global South studying the polycrisis; launched a new website and online magazine called the Long View; and served an increasingly influential funder community working toward resilience in the polycrisis through Omega programs.

Developed an evidence-based palliative care volunteer training curriculum, based on 20 years of hospice training experience by Humane Prison Hospice Project staff, and secured hundreds of thousands in new funding to train fellow prisoners in compassionate end-of-life caregiving and grief companionship.

Assumed new leadership and presented webinars to more than 7,500 participants in 18 countries during the Collaborative on Health and the Environment’s 20th anniversary year.

Trained 600 educators in various fields from 10 countries to facilitate discussions about art; celebrated 10 years as a partner with the New York Times Learning blog; and offered free weekly Look Club Online sessions to expand a global audience through Visual Thinking Strategies.

Provided almost 40,000 service hours through Healing Circles Global and Healing Circles Healthcare–with training for 240 circle leaders from around the world–for participants and healthcare professionals facing grief, cancer, caregiving, social isolation, death & dying, and injustice.

Continued the Migrant Support Project at Cañon de Alacrán near Tijuana, Mexico, where a new grant from the Cold Mountain Fund at RSF Social Finance is funding the construction of a school for more than 400 refugee children.

Engaged our New School at Commonweal community in conversations about resilience, integrative cancer care, spiritual growth, women’s empowerment, and social justice—with more than 86,000 podcast listens and 250,000 video watches in 51 countries this year.

Received a 2-year grant from Fetzer Institute to support Gift of Compassion’s racial praxis (theory and practice) program in Southern California, offering trust-based giving to partners that manifest love and compassion in youth entrepreneur, sober living, violence interruption, wellness building, meditation, yoga, and outdoor experience communities.

Played a central role in reform of the California juvenile justice system, including the pending closure of the state’s troubled youth prison system and helping lawmakers design and fund local programs serving justice system youth who are being “realigned” to counties from state institutions—fitting accomplishments during this 30th anniversary year of the Juvenile Justice Program.

Uplifted the national conversation about racial justice and healing through the Center for Healing and Liberation’s inaugural residential Black women’s nourishment retreat at Commonweal, in partnership with the Octavia Fund.

Formalized Commonweal Northwest in Langley, Washington: a beautifully restored 100-year-old building that is a generous gift from Diana and Kelly Lindsay and the Langley community.

Grew the Retreat Center Collaboration community, revealing an increasing potential to become a system-shifting network–including the Racial Healing Initiative, who is developing a racial healing curriculum for implementation in retreat center environments.

Contributed to global climate solutions while growing community resilience and adaptation to change through the West Marin Climate Action program–with more West Marin households signed up to source their electricity from renewable sources (MCE Deep Green), a collaborative E/V Expo featuring e-tools to e-tractors, demonstration eco-sorting stations for Marin County farmers markets, gleaning efforts that furnish fresh produce to local food pantries serving hundreds of people, opportunities for rainwater catchment tank installations to support greater drought and climate resilience, and a growing Spanish-language capacity for greater inclusivity.

Received an additional 300K from Fetzer for the Innovative Learning and Living Institute (ILALI) and formalized partnerships with the Whidbey Institute and Watershed Center to pilot Wayfinders, a four-month immersive residency and transformative learning journey for young adults in their twenties beginning January 2023.

Launched the Our Planet app from the Climate Action Systems program, offering a series of innovative collaboration tools and the collective power of our global network. The app is free and available for download in the Apple and Google app stores.