OFC formed an advisory board and LLC in early 2020 while participating in the Tiny Fellowship with 4.0 Schools. This fellowship included pilot funds, validated the founding advisors and co-founders, solidified an audiences’ need, and evaluated impact. We hosted 2 retreats with specific networks of educators, and marketed an open gathering across the region.
Next, OFC offered a 9-month series studded by 3 in-person retreats and virtual group check-ins. OFC facilitators created a container of contemplative practice with a cohort of educators throughout their transition back to schools re-opening in-person. Internally, OFC created event infrastructure and replicable systems to support content, facilitators, and sites.
After 5 more retreats to date, OFC views pre-post survey results as one form of evidence of impact. In measuring the need for our approach in a pre-survey, 93% of attendees are at least “sometimes” emotionally exhausted, 84% are glad they chose their career, but only 60% feel like a "success as an educator.” Post-retreat, average scores increased for the core contemplative practice areas OFC offers, as measured by the Kentucky mindfulness inventory and more. Attendees also imagined improving their environment, as evidenced by a 25% increase in confidence in “implementing healing-centered practices in my workplace.”
In 2024, OFC core circle members
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