The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education

What The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education does

The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) is a non-profit research and education center established in 2008 within Stanford University School of Medicine's Department of Neurosurgery. Founded by neurosurgeon Dr. James R. Doty with an initial $150,000 donation from the Dalai Lama and supporting grants from Doty's Accuray stock pledge exceeding $5 million, CCARE conducts interdisciplinary research on the neuroscience, psychology, and biological bases of compassion and altruism, and translates that research into training programs. Its technology footprint centers on novel methodologies including the Empowerment Neuroscience Lab's portable dual-brain neuroimaging platform, used to study compassion, trust, and collaboration in real-world human interactions.

CCARE's product surface is a portfolio of educational programs rather than a unified software platform: the original Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT) 8-week course (priced at $285 per participant via partner UC Berkeley), the 11-month global live online Applied Compassion Training (ACT) program (with 500+ graduates across 40+ countries since inception), a 4-month CCARE Compassion Lab for professionals, a 3-Day Compassion Immersion at Stanford, and a Transformative Leadership Program co-hosted with MIT's Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values. Research outputs include the Oxford Handbook of Compassion Science and various neuroimaging studies on compassion and burnout in healthcare settings.

Revenue is generated through a mix of tuition and fees on training programs, corporate contracts (referencing prior engagements with Google, Slack, and MetLife via Director of Program Development Neelama Eyres), donations, and named fellowships (Project Compassion Fund, Claire Roscow Fellowship, Dignity Health-CCARE Fellowship). Distribution combines in-person offerings on the Stanford campus, partner-hosted channels at UC Berkeley and other academic institutions, global online live programs, corporate channels led by the Director of Corporate Compassion Education, and content marketing through YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, the CCARE newsletter, and earned media in Harvard Business Review, Psychology Today, and Stanford News. Following founder James Doty's death in July 2025, Al'ai Alvarez serves as Interim Director, Dr. Stephanie Balters was named Director of Research in January 2026, and Kyla O'Neill was hired as the organization's first full-time staff member in May 2026.

Name

The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education

Legal name

The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education

Website

https://ccare.stanford.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CCARE is a Stanford Medicine-affiliated non-profit research and education center conducting neuroscience-based studies of compassion and offering evidence-based training programs (CCT, ACT, Compassion Lab) to individuals, healthcare professionals, and organizations globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic research and compassion education

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Behavioral Health & Counseling (Social Work, Psychology, Substance Use CE) (EDAAALAD)

Keywords

• Compassion research
• Neuroscience education
• Contemplative training
• Emotional intelligence training
• Mindfulness research

Headquarters

HQ city

Palo Alto

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Educational Programs and Training: Revenue from compassion training programs including Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT) and Applied Compassion Training (ACT), which are fee-based courses for individuals and organizations
2. Donations and Charitable Funding: The center relies on donations and charitable contributions, with the Dalai Lama as founding benefactor. Supported by funds like the Project Compassion Fund and Claire Roscow Fellowship

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CCARE is a research and education center within Stanford University School of Medicine's Department of Neurosurgery that conducts rigorous scientific studies of compassion and altruism. It offers evidence-based compassion training programs for individuals, healthcare professionals, and organizations, including Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT), Applied Compassion Training (ACT), the 4-month CCARE Compassion Lab, an 8-week course, and a 3-day Stanford immersion. The center combines neuroscience, psychology, and contemplative traditions to study and teach compassion.

Product overview

The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University School of Medicine is a research and education center focused on promoting, supporting, and conducting scientific studies of compassion and altruism. Rather than a unified software product, CCARE offers a portfolio of educational programs including Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT), the 4-month CCARE Compassion Lab, the 8-week Cultivate a Compassionate Heart course, the 11-month Applied Compassion Training (ACT), and the 3-Day Compassion Immersion program. These programs are designed for professionals, caregivers, and individuals seeking to develop evidence-based compassion skills. CCARE also conducts interdisciplinary research and hosts annual Compassion Week events. The organization operates under Stanford's Department of Neurosurgery and was founded in 2008.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT): An educational program designed to help improve resilience and build connections with others through traditional contemplative practices combined with contemporary psychology and scientific research.
• Applied Compassion Training (ACT)
• CCARE Compassion Lab

Products and services

• Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT) An educational program designed to improve resilience and build connections with others, incorporating traditional contemplative practices with contemporary psychology and scientific research. Offered to individuals and through partner institutions such as UC Berkeley.
• CCARE Compassion Lab A 4-month program designed for professionals, changemakers, caregivers, and individuals seeking to develop evidence-based compassion tools to navigate life's complexity with resilience, clarity, and purpose.
• Cultivate a Compassionate Heart (8-Week Course) An 8-week course that enhances skills of emotional intelligence, self-reflection, meditation, active listening, and more, combining traditional contemplative practices with contemporary psychology and ongoing scientific research on compassion.
• Applied Compassion Training (ACT) An 11-month global live online program designed to prepare participants to be agents of change and compassion within their workplace, organization, community, profession, and personal life, equipping them with skills, knowledge, resources, global community, and expertise.
• 3-Day Compassion Immersion at Stanford University An intensive 3-day in-person compassion immersion program held at Stanford University, providing deep experiential training in compassion practices.
• Transformative Leadership Program A two-day leadership development program co-hosted with MIT's Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values, designed to help leaders develop their unique leadership signature through values-based approaches.
• Compassion Week Annual event series featuring multiple conferences including Science of Compassion, Compassion & Healthcare Conference, Empathy and Compassion in Society Conference, Charter for Compassion Day, and Living Compassionately Retreat.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 500 individuals from 40+ countries have graduated from the ACT program
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Dignity HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor healthcare provider that sponsored the Dignity Health-CCARE Fellowship for research on compassion in healthcare settings. Supported Compassion Week 2014 events and the Healing Power of Kindness literature review.
• Charter for CompassioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCCARE collaborates with the Charter for Compassion, an international organization. Dr. James Doty serves as vice-chair of Charter for Compassion International. Jointly hosted Compassion Week 2014.
• The Center for Healthy Minds, University of WisconsinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRelated academic center studying compassion and well-being, part of CCARE's network of Compassion in Academia organizations.
• The Greater Good Science Center, UC BerkeleyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of CCARE's Compassion in Academia network, studying the science of well-being and compassion.
• Meng Wu Lecture SeriesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCCARE lecture series featuring researchers on compassion and related fields, such as Dacher Keltner's talk on evolutionary compassion.
• Mind & Life InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of CCARE's Compassion Foundations network, bridging science and contemplative traditions.
• The Inner Journey InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded by CCARE's Neelama Eyres, offering transformational programs in the US, Canada, and Europe.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Greater Good Science Center (UC Berkeley): UC Berkeley's center studying the science of well-being and compassion. CCARE explicitly lists it as part of its Compassion in Academia network, and both centers offer programs like CCT (CCARE's program is even offered through UC Berkeley).
• Mind & Life Institute: Organization bridging contemplative traditions and science, founded with Dalai Lama involvement. Listed as part of CCARE's Compassion Foundations network and shares the science-plus-contemplation positioning.
• Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute: Google-originated leadership institute offering evidence-based mindfulness and emotional intelligence training to corporations. Directly comparable offering to CCARE's corporate compassion programs and Compassion Lab.
• Charter for Compassion: International compassion organization co-led by CCARE's late founder James Doty as vice-chair. Directly collaborates with CCARE on Compassion Week and shared mission.
• Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values (MIT): MIT-based center co-hosting CCARE's Transformative Leadership Program. Shares the contemplative-ethics-plus-leadership-development positioning for professionals.
• Center for Healthy Minds (University of Wisconsin–Madison): Academic research center studying well-being, compassion, and the brain, led by Richard Davidson. Listed as a CCARE Compassion in Academia network partner, with overlapping research and training missions.

Emerging players

• CompassionLab: Research initiative co-founded by CCARE research scientist Monica Worline. Focused on the science of compassion in organizations, overlapping CCARE's research and corporate training domains.
• EnlivenWork: Organization founded by CCARE research scientist Monica Worline, focused on awakening compassion at work. Closely adjacent to CCARE's corporate compassion education offerings.
• Inner Journey Institute: Transformational program provider co-founded by CCARE's Neelama Eyres. Offers programs in the US, Canada, and Europe, directly adjacent to CCARE's ACT and CCT educational offerings.

Broad incumbents

• Authentic Happiness (University of Pennsylvania): Positive psychology initiative of Martin Seligman at Penn. Broader and better-known in the positive-psychology space but overlaps with CCARE's evidence-based compassion and well-being science positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ccarestanford
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ccare-stanford
• Instagraminstagram.com/stanfordccare
• Xx.com/CCARE
• Facebookfacebook.com/stanfordccare

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education