Zendo Project

What Zendo Project does

Zendo Project is a California-incorporated, 501(c)(3)-style nonprofit organization that originated within MAPS in 2012 at Burning Man and became an independent entity in 2023. It delivers psychedelic harm reduction peer support through a structured methodology built on the proprietary "Four Principles of Psychedelic Care" framework (Safe Space, Sitting Not Guiding, Through Not Down, Difficult Is Not Necessarily Bad). Its service portfolio comprises: (i) the Zendo SIT Course, a 12-hour live virtual training program with APA-approved CE credits for psychologists, LCSWs, nurses, and related licensed professionals, sold via the website with Klarna-enabled payment plans starting at $54/month plus a $70 CE processing fee; (ii) free educational resources including a Mini Course and a Psychedelic Journey Companion Guide; (iii) on-site event peer support services (greeters, sitters, logkeepers, logistics, medical triage coordination, and PULSE volunteer roles) contracted directly by event producers; and (iv) Zendo Lab, an emerging outcomes research initiative anchored by a 2026 Colorado Embedded Care Pilot of 15 nights of embedded peer support.

Revenue mechanics are diversified across three streams: training course fees (Zendo SIT with installment pricing and CE processing fees), B2B event services contracts (quote-based, with the Burning Man 14-year relationship ending in 2026 alongside Envision Festival and Lightning in a Bottle engagements), and donations plus grants (processed via Every.org and Stripe, with Burning Man Project providing dedicated funding in 2025 that lapsed for 2026). The underlying technology stack is a web-based delivery and operations platform using Stripe (payments), Klarna (installments), Mailchimp (email), Zoho (CRM), Meta Pixel (advertising analytics), and Zoom (live virtual training), augmented by a volunteer management system supporting the Pulse Program and Community Council. The organization also maintains a small AI-adjacent capability through a CTO serving as Research Fellow advising on analytics and data strategy, and is beginning to accumulate outcomes data through Zendo Lab.

Zendo Project serves four primary customer segments: festival and event attendees experiencing challenging psychedelic or emotional states; mental health professionals seeking CE-credited psychedelic harm reduction training; event producers and organizers contracting for on-site peer support services; and a broader community of volunteers, peer supporters, and curious psychedelic explorers accessing free educational resources. Its leadership combines clinical depth (an emergency medicine Medical Director, clinicians from MAPS heritage, somatic counseling expertise) with governance from a board that includes a former Lykos Therapeutics (formerly MAPS PBC) CEO and a former MAPS General Counsel.

Name

Zendo Project

Legal name

Zendo Project Inc.

Website

https://zendoproject.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Zendo Project is a California-based nonprofit that trains individuals and licensed mental health professionals in psychedelic harm reduction peer support and provides on-site emotional crisis services at festivals and events worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Psychedelic Harm Reduction Training

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Mindfulness, Meditation & Stress Management Education (EDAAAHAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Meditation Apps, Digital Courses & Online Communities (HSADAJAH)

Keywords

• Psychedelic harm reduction
• Peer support training
• Substance use education
• Crisis intervention services
• Event safety services

Headquarters

HQ city

Grass Valley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Training Course Sales (Zendo SIT): The primary revenue stream comes from the Zendo SIT (Sitting and Integration Training) course, a 12-hour live virtual training program. Participants pay enrollment fees with payment plan options through Klarna. The course also generates $70 CE processing fees from eligible professional participants.
2. Donations and Fundraising: As a nonprofit organization, Zendo Project relies on donations from individuals and the psychedelic community. The organization mentions receiving dedicated funding from Burning Man Project and exploring sustainable funding models.
3. Event Services (B2B Contracts): Zendo Project provides specialized harm reduction services at events including on-site peer counseling and tranquil spaces for guests. Event producers contract the organization for these services, which requires detailed event information including budget in the inquiry process.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Zendo Project is a nonprofit organization that delivers psychedelic harm reduction training and on-site peer support services. Its flagship offering is the Zendo SIT course, a 12-hour live virtual training program that grants continuing education credits to licensed clinicians, complemented by free educational resources (a Companion Guide and a Mini Course) and direct peer support services deployed at festivals and large events.

Product overview

Zendo Project offers a portfolio of educational programs and services centered on psychedelic harm reduction and peer support training. The flagship product is the Zendo SIT Course, a 12-hour live virtual training program in compassionate psychedelic care. Supporting resources include the free Psychedelic Journey Companion Guide and Mini Course. The organization also provides direct peer support services at events through trained volunteers, and operates Zendo Lab for research on peer support outcomes. The portfolio ranges from free educational resources to fee-based professional training courses offering continuing education credits.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Zendo SIT: Psychedelic Care and Harm Reduction Live Course - a 12-hour training program in psychedelic peer support and compassionate care.

Products and services

• Zendo SIT Course

Quantifiable outcome

• Significantly lower PTSD and complex PTSD symptoms in study participants 2 months after psychedelic experiences at ceremonies or raves
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Colorado Events (Zendo Lab Pilot)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Colorado Embedded Care Pilot: 15 nights of embedded peer support services across Colorado state, with Zendo Lab gathering real-world data on psychedelic peer support working alongside medical teams at nightlife events.
• MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Zendo Project was founded as a gift to the playa from MAPS in 2012. The organization became an independent nonprofit in 2023. Many staff members have MAPS backgrounds. The organization originated within MAPS's ecosystem.
• Black Rock RangersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerZendo Project expresses deep gratitude to the Black Rock Rangers for years of partnership and fierce advocacy at Burning Man. The Black Rock Rangers are Burning Man's official volunteer safety and conflict resolution team.
• StripeminorOthersStripe is used as the payment processor for donations and purchases. Zendo Project does not store full payment card numbers.
• Spiritual Competency Academy (SCA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSCA sponsors CE credits for the Zendo SIT course. SCA is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor CE for psychologists. SCA also enables CE for LCSW, LPCC, LEP, LMFT, and RN licenses.
• KlarnaminorOthersKlarna provides flexible payment plan options for the Zendo SIT course enrollment, allowing participants to pay over 3, 4, 6, or 12 months.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Chill UK: Chill UK is a UK-based psychedelic peer support charity modeled directly on Zendo Project's festival sitter program. It provides the same type of non-medical support at UK festivals, sharing Zendo's Four Principles-inspired methodology and serving a parallel European audience.

Direct peers

• MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies): MAPS is the parent ecosystem from which Zendo Project was founded in 2012 and spun out of in 2023. Both organizations train professionals, produce educational curricula, and advocate within the psychedelic space, with overlapping audiences of clinicians and harm reduction practitioners.
• KosmiCare: KosmiCare is a psychedelic peer support service founded by Sara Gael, who later served as Zendo Project's Director. Both organizations offer non-medical support during and after psychedelic experiences using volunteer sitters, and address the same unmet need for compassionate peer-based care.
• DanceSafe: DanceSafe provides drug checking and harm reduction services at festivals, raves, and nightlife events — the same venue category where Zendo Project deploys peer sitters. Both organizations are nonprofit harm reduction providers targeting the EDM/festival community with volunteer-driven delivery.
• Fireside Project: Fireside Project operates a peer support phone line for people during psychedelic experiences, using a trained volunteer model nearly identical to Zendo's in-person event sitters. Both organizations deliver non-directive psychedelic peer support and train volunteers using harm reduction principles, serving overlapping user populations.

Broad incumbents

• Chacruna Institute: Chacruna Institute is a leading psychedelic education and cultural organization hosting conferences, podcasts, and continuing education. It serves a similar professional audience to Zendo's SIT course participants and competes for the same CE-credit training dollars in the psychedelic practitioner market.
• Beckley Foundation: Beckley Foundation is a UK-based psychedelic research and policy organization that funds peer-reviewed studies and advocates for drug policy reform. It shares Zendo's mission of advancing the science and acceptance of psychedelics, and competes for philanthropic and grant funding in the same donor pool.
• Lykos Therapeutics (formerly MAPS PBC): Lykos, the commercial arm formerly of MAPS, is pursuing FDA approval for MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD and represents the regulated clinical side of psychedelic care. Zendo's training and peer support model could feed into Lykos-trained facilitator pipelines as the broader psychedelic therapy ecosystem professionalizes.

Emerging players

• The Third Wave: The Third Wave is a psychedelic education platform offering courses, articles, and training content to consumers and practitioners. It overlaps with Zendo's free educational resources (mini course, companion guide) and competes for the same audience of self-directed psychedelic learners.
• Sage Institute: Sage Institute provides psychedelic therapy and facilitator training programs, including harm reduction curricula similar in spirit to Zendo's Four Principles. It overlaps with Zendo's professional training audience (clinicians seeking CE-eligible psychedelic education) within the emerging regulated facilitator market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xinstagram.com/zendoproject
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@zendoproject
• Facebookfacebook.com/zendoproject
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/93112478
• Instagraminstagram.com/zendoproject

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles25 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Zendo Project