Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education

What Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education does

The Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education is a Canadian charitable trust established on September 21, 2005, in Vancouver, British Columbia, co-founded by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Victor Chan, Craig Kielburger, and Marc Kielburger. The Center is dedicated to promoting social and emotional learning (SEL) among children and youth, operationalizing the Dalai Lama's belief that formal education must balance intellectual development with "educating the heart." It serves educators, parents, caregivers, school systems, and healthcare professionals through evidence-based programs, digital resources, and convenings.

Its core product is the Heart and Mind Index, an evidence-based SEL framework co-developed with Dr. Kimberley Schonert-Reichl and the University of British Columbia's Human Early Learning Project. The Center distributes content via two main digital platforms — dalailamacenter.org and heartmindonline.org — providing free downloadable guides, lesson plans, webinars, online courses, and video resources, and hosts in-person events including Heart & Mind conferences and the Vancouver Peace Summit, drawing Nobel Peace Prize laureates and global thought leaders. Sub-brands include Heart-Mind Well-Being (the cornerstone SEL program) and the heartmindonline.org platform.

The Center operates as a non-profit with revenue derived entirely from donations and grants sourced from private citizens, foundations, corporations, and government. It is governed by a Board of Trustees and an international advisory board chaired by the Dalai Lama. With approximately 8 employees, the organization emphasizes policy influence — its work contributed to British Columbia becoming the first North American jurisdiction to integrate SEL into school curriculum in 2015 — and has set an explicit 2024 strategic agenda to scale Education of the Heart to millions of children across North America.

Name

Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education

Legal name

The Dalai Lama Peace and Education Center

Website

https://dalailamacenter.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education is a Canadian non-profit charitable trust that promotes social and emotional learning for children and youth through evidence-based frameworks, free digital resources, and training programs serving educators, parents, caregivers, school systems, and healthcare professionals across North America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social and Emotional Learning Education

NAICS

Educational Support Services (6117), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Programs & Supports (EDAJAIAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) & Wellbeing Digital Curriculum (EDAFACAM), Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) & Emotional Regulation Programs (EDAMAIAC), Family Engagement & Caregiver Support Programs (SEL/Mental Health) (EDAKAMAK), Staff Training, Coaching & Professional Development (SEL/Mental Health) (EDAKAMAL)

Keywords

• Social emotional learning
• Educational programs
• SEL resources
• Nonprofit education
• Teacher training

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: Funding secured through donations and grants from private citizens, foundations, corporations, and government sources.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Dalai Lama Center develops and disseminates evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs, frameworks, and digital resources for educators, parents, caregivers, school systems, and healthcare professionals working with children and youth. Its core offerings include the Heart-Mind Well-Being program, the Heart and Mind Index framework (developed with the University of British Columbia), online courses, webinars, conferences, and free downloadable guides, tools, and lesson plans distributed via dalailamacenter.org and heartmindonline.org.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Heart-Mind Well-Being: The cornerstone program of the Dalai Lama Center dedicated to promoting social and emotional development of children and youth
• heartmindonline.org
• Heart and Mind Index

Products and services

• Heart and Mind Index Evidence-based SEL framework developed in collaboration with Dr. Kimberley Schonert-Reichl and the University of British Columbia's Human Early Learning Project to support the development of social and emotional learning in children; intended for educators, school systems, and policymakers.
• Heart-Mind Well-Being Program The cornerstone program of the Dalai Lama Center dedicated to promoting social and emotional development of children and youth through guides, tools, lesson plans, and SEL strategies; delivered free to educators, caregivers, and school systems.
• heartmindonline.org Platform Digital resource platform launched for the Science of Kindness conference that hosts SEL content, resources, and materials for educators, parents, and caregivers globally.
• Online SEL Course for Adults Online course for adults on social and emotional learning developed during the pandemic, complemented by an initiative to support healthcare professionals in fostering children's social and emotional well-being; delivered free through digital channels.

Quantifiable outcome

• British Columbia became the first jurisdiction in North America to integrate social and emotional learning as a fundamental element of school curriculum (2015)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of British Columbia - Human Early Learning ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Dr. Kimberley Schonert-Reichl and UBC's Human Early Learning Project to develop the Heart and Mind Index, an evidence-based framework for social and emotional learning in children.
• Mind & Life InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research organization exploring the intersection of science and contemplative practice. The Dalai Lama Center promotes their work.
• Dalai Lama TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn organization dedicated to preserving the cultural and spiritual heritage of Tibet and supporting educational initiatives.
• FPMT (Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHis Holiness the Dalai Lama laid the foundation stone for The Dalai Lama Centre for Tibetan and Indian Ancient Wisdom in Bodhgaya, India in partnership with FPMT.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• EVERFI: EVERFI provides digital SEL and character education curricula for K-12 schools across North America. Comparable as a digital-first SEL content provider serving school systems, though EVERFI operates on a commercial SaaS model while the Dalai Lama Center distributes free resources.
• Search Institute: Search Institute develops research-based frameworks (Developmental Assets) for positive youth development used widely by schools and youth-serving organizations. Comparable as an evidence-based framework provider targeting educators working with children and youth.
• Committee for Children (Second Step): Committee for Children develops and distributes the Second Step SEL curriculum, one of the most widely adopted K-8 SEL programs in North America. Like the Dalai Lama Center, it provides evidence-based classroom resources targeting social and emotional development of children.
• Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence (RULER): Yale's Center for Emotional Intelligence develops the RULER framework for SEL in schools, directly comparable as an academically-validated SEL program targeting educators and school systems. Both organizations bridge research and classroom practice.
• CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning): CASEL is the leading SEL framework organization for K-12 in the US, directly comparable to the Dalai Lama Center's SEL programs and supports for educators and school systems. Both organizations develop evidence-based SEL frameworks adopted by school districts and serve as policy influencers in the SEL space.
• Random Acts of Kindness Foundation: Random Acts of Kindness Foundation provides free K-12 kindness and SEL lesson plans aligned with CASEL competencies. Directly comparable as a non-profit offering free digital SEL curriculum resources to educators and schools.
• Greater Good in Education (UC Berkeley): Greater Good in Education translates research from UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center into free K-12 SEL resources for educators. Highly comparable as a university-affiliated, evidence-based SEL content provider serving teachers and parents.

Others

• WE Charity / Free The Children: WE Charity (formerly Free The Children) was co-founded by Craig and Marc Kielburger, who are also co-founders of the Dalai Lama Center. Comparable as a Canadian youth-focused social impact organization, with overlapping leadership and mission space around empowering young people.
• Mind & Life Institute: Mind & Life Institute is a research organization exploring the intersection of contemplative practice and science, co-founded by the Dalai Lama. Listed as an active partner of the Dalai Lama Center and thematically aligned on mindfulness/SEL, though it operates upstream in research rather than direct K-12 curriculum.

Broad incumbents

• ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development): ASCD is a long-established professional association for educators that promotes the Whole Child approach integrating SEL into curriculum. Comparable as a broader incumbent in K-12 educator support and SEL policy influence, though it operates across the full curriculum spectrum rather than specializing in SEL.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dalai-lama-center-for-peace-and-education

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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