Dear HMS and NVC Community,

In August, last year, we launched our not-for-profit, Harmonic Mediation Society, with the ambitious goal of massively expanding the Nonviolent Communication (NVC) community and empowering this community to sustainably foster social change, turning conflict into harmony worldwide.

Since then, our vision has grown clearer with thoughtful planning and reflection. We have tailored our plan to empower NVC trainer certification candidates, aid NVC practitioners in their professional growth, incorporate NVC into other helping professions, and enhance the accessibility and sustainability of our NVC social change offerings.

Moreover, we have a practical roadmap toward the grand vision many in the NVC community share— a world where harmonious interactions are the norm. We have accordingly revised our objectives to encompass this long-term vision.

We've also taken tangible actions to prepare ourselves for the launch of numerous products, services, and initiatives for the NVC community and the wider public. We've secured approval for the CAD $10,000/month Google Ad Grant, trained 20 people in offering NVC conflict mediation services, drafted a detailed long-term scientific study to validate the efficacy of the NVC mediation model for couples, outlined a series of professional development courses and apprenticeship programs to help people at any point in their NVC journey, and drafted a self-certification process for HMS certified support roles. We are also currently in the process of developing the structure of our certification programs and a free software product to offer to coaches, counsellors, and therapists to bring them and their clients into our NVC-based training programs.

In an unexpected yet intriguing development, the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has profoundly transformed our operational environment. Recognizing its potential to dramatically elevate our services for the NVC community and aid those in conflict in innovative, unparalleled ways, we've fully embedded AI into our strategic blueprint in an ethical, opt-in, and anonymized manner to protect people's privacy and information. Additionally, we see a unique opportunity to contribute to the evolution of ethical Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), a task of global significance and profound importance.

The momentum building around HMS extends beyond our immediate community and fills me with immense enthusiasm and anticipation. Our vision has caught the attention not just with those within the NVC sphere, but also people from all walks of life who recognize the value in what we are doing. The eagerness they express, from their intent to take our training to their desire to get involved in other ways, is inspiring and reaffirms the work we are doing. It underscores the universal applicability and appeal of our initiative, and gives me great hope for the expansion and success of our plans.

Towards that expansion, our team is growing. We have a new working Board of Directors, which includes John Kinyon, Rana Core, Paul Beaton, and myself. John Kinyon is a well-known first-generation CNVC certified NVC trainer and author of several books on mediation. Rana and Paul have both have served on other boards and bring a lot of skills and connections to the organization, and I am a serial online entrepreneur and marketer who is also on the CNVC certification path. Additionally, NVC historian Dan Rona, and mediator Rana Core have joined our training team and are currently working on course material for Level 1 of our certification program. I envision us expanding our team greatly in the next year.

Looking ahead, I am profoundly optimistic about HMS's future. Our short-term vision is within our grasp, and I am confident in our capacity to actualize it. I expect we'll create significant positive impact in thousands of people's lives over the next few years and our comprehensive strategy allows for exponential growth from there. Our long-term vision is ambitious and will require time, yet I believe the plan outlined below has a strong chance of creating significant social change.

Thank you for being part of this transformational journey. I eagerly look forward to all that we will achieve together.

John Reel
Executive Director,
Harmonic Mediation Society

We envision a generation of children raised with Nonviolent Communication (NVC) principles will facilitate a world in which conflicts are resolved peacefully, and harmonious coexistence becomes the norm.

In our quest to realize this vision, we understand the crucial role of not just parents, but also educators, policymakers, and community stakeholders in advocating for the integration of NVC and its conflict resolution skills into global school curriculums, making it as fundamental as subjects like reading and writing.

We uphold that the most potent instigator of this advocacy will be the personal transformation experienced by these individuals when NVC principles are applied in their personal and professional lives.

Thus, we're committed to creating and promoting NVC-based programs that address specific challenges different groups face with practical solutions that provide transformative outcomes, while being passionate about ensuring our programs are accessible to all, irrespective of socio-economic or cultural backgrounds.

While we are fully focused on our commitment to personal connection, we also acknowledge the transformative potential of technology. Our plans for a world of peaceful conflict resolution is set to evolve alongside advancements in technology, particularly in fostering the development of AI for the greater good of humanity. By leveraging AI to aid practitioners, assist the public, and analyze our scientific studies, we are poised to amass a significant dataset of NVC conflict resolution scenarios. These will be anonymously collected, always with informed consent. With the emergence of Artificial General Intelligence, which promises capabilities surpassing human intelligence, these scenarios might have the potential to be used by AI researchers to imbue these AI systems with an NVC consciousness, ensuring they also recognize the value of every being's needs. 

Lastly, we are dedicated to continuous improvement and evolution. We will adapt and refine our NVC programs and AI training systems based on feedback, outcomes, and changing societal and technological needs. This commitment will pave the way to our ultimate goal - a future generation raised with NVC consciousness, enriched by ethical AGI, leading us to a peaceful and understanding world.

Solutions for NVC Practitioners:

Our not-for-profit was inspired in response to an observed trend: despite their wealth of knowledge and skills, many NVC practitioners encounter difficulties in sustainably driving the social change they wish to see. Through various conversations, we identified significant roadblocks hampering their progress. These include a lack of confidence in handling real-world conflicts outside the NVC community, insufficient marketing know-how to connect with individuals in need, a distaste for advertising, and a lack of technical skills necessary for effectively managing the logistics of helping people at any scale.

Another notable challenge we found that can impede NVC practitioners from achieving sustainable impact is their perspective on financial compensation. Many within the NVC community value the idea of sharing their expertise as a form of contribution, often prioritizing the intrinsic rewards of their work over its monetary aspects. This mindset, while noble, can sometimes hinder their capacity to support themselves and continue their meaningful work. We believe that recognizing the importance of sustainable financial structures is crucial for NVC practitioners to have a long-lasting and broad-reaching impact.

This understanding ignited a pivotal aspect of our plan: to promote sustainable NVC social change by establishing and supporting a network of trained, certified practitioners and linking them with those in need in a financially sustainable way.

In response, we are building a three-tier certification program in partnership with respected certified NVC trainer, John Kinyon, and we soon aim to involve additional certified trainers as well. This program will emphasize the creation and enhancement of three underrepresented support roles, with each each tier of the certification process corresponding to one of these vital roles:

Empathic Listeners who provide a supportive space for individuals to express their emotions and experiences amidst conflicts or distress and help them foster deep self-awareness and self-empathy, through skillful reflection of what they share.

Connection Guides who help individuals gain empathy for others involved in conflicts and practice articulating their feelings, needs, and requests in ways that are more likely to be heard and more likely to result in mutually satisfying resolutions.

Harmonic Mediators who guide a process in which parties involved in a disagreement or dispute are brought together to express their perspectives, understand each other better, and collaboratively find their own mutually satisfying resolutions.

These programs will also foster essential skills such as self-promotion and case-study development. Graduates who join HMS as members will also benefit from the promotional services, directory listing, web-site hosting, client booking, client management services, and ongoing mentorship, which we will be included during their first practicum and certification process, and available with a modest membership fee once certified with HMS as an Empathic Listener.

We plan to promote these professional development courses to both the NVC community and those unfamiliar with NVC, such as certified coaches, therapists, and legal mediators. These programs are being designed to scale to accommodate nearly unlimited students. This will enable us to provide them on a gift-economy (free or by donation) as self-study course as well as a paid certification program including live classes and a practicum. The practicum portion is designed to bolster students' confidence and allow them to recover their full investment, facilitated through a self-certification process that includes automated feedback from clients, peer support, and trainer mentorship.

By providing paying practice clients via our advertising efforts and keeping course fees reasonable, we aim to make joining our certification program an easy and accessible decision. To further enhance accessibility, we will offer the certification programs on a sliding scale and for free for a percentage of students, effectively eliminating financial barriers to spreading this impactful work.

Recognizing that other certified NVC trainers have been training people in these skills for decades, people in the NVC community who have completed equivalent live training can choose to fast-track through the HMS certification process at a discounted rate. This certification process aims to maintain consistency between the expectations set by our client outreach efforts and the experiences our clients have with HMS certified practitioners.

Upon completion of the three-tier HMS certification program, we plan to extend paid apprenticeship opportunities within four primary specialization areas:

- Navigating personal and family dynamics, leading paid support groups, and leading client onboarding workshops.
- Facilitating conflict resolution in organizations, corporations, and advocacy groups.
- Promoting HMS via in-person workshops locally and globally as a Harmonic Ambassador.
- Becoming a CNVC-certified trainer and instructing the HMS professional development programs.

Looking ahead, we envision a future where these professionals can be accessed almost on-demand, creating a kind of empathy and conflict resolution "911" service and emergency response services. Our goal is to render these crucial skills readily available to those in need, supporting healthier, more compassionate communities and interactions world-wide. 

Additionally, we've also identified a unique challenge for CNVC trainer certification candidates: connecting with and instructing groups unfamiliar with NVC. We plan to leverage our marketing to promote the instructional efforts of NVC trainer certification candidates and certified NVC trainers. Our proposed platform will enable these individuals to offer classes to our audience, with automated post-class feedback surveys to support their CNVC certification process.

Solutions for Personal and Family Challenges:

We propose a targeted approach, marketing tailored solutions to distinct audiences, rather than broadly promoting NVC training. Initially, we aim to assist couples who are grappling with conflict and seeking constructive ways to mend their relationships. To facilitate this, we're creating a waiting list for such couples at HarmonicCouples.com and will soon introduce a suite of offerings. These include introductory workshops and a relationship kit consisting of two personal logs, two decks of cards for facilitating conversations, and an agreement log. These will all be available on a gift-economy, with an additional professionally printed kit offered in partnership with Thrive Decks. People going through these programs can choose to pay for additional support through weekly support groups for groups of ten couples each and as-needed one-on-one empathy, conversation preparation, and mediation services. These will be offered by HMS certified practitioners through HMS, with a percentage of spots being available on a gift-economy to increase accessibility. 

We are dedicated to ensuring our services are accessible to everyone, irrespective of financial means. Besides offering free and low-cost workshops, we plan to mandate that a portion of our paid services are provided pro bono for those in need, including an option for those in need of financial assistance to opt to work with students during their practicum and with HMS certification candidates at discounted rates set by HMS. This way, we maintain a commitment to inclusivity and the belief that everyone should have the opportunity to benefit from these services from the NVC community within a gift economy as well as a paid economy. 

After successfully implementing these services for couples, our plan is to collaborate with trainers offering NVC courses for parents, with the intention of developing similarly beneficial programs in the parenting space. In the future, we will also market variations of these products for other personal and family conflicts, each with its own unique marketing campaign, landing page, and kit, specific to that market.

Solutions for Workspaces:

We are also addressing workspace dynamics. Our objective is to formulate a comprehensive program that is specifically tailored to the unique needs of corporate environments, organizations, and other workspaces. To accomplish this, we will collaborate with experienced NVC practitioners who specialize in corporate training, as well as other industry professionals well-versed in the intricacies of workspace dynamics.

Our ambition is to introduce a "Harmonic Workspace" certification program. In order to achieve this certification, organizations will commit to specific training practices and agree to employ HMS graduates to mediate internal conflicts and facilitate group-informed decision making. This is in the pursuit of a harmonious work environment that values everyone's needs equally.

We believe that workspaces which achieve Harmonic Workspace certification will secure a distinct competitive edge. The creation of a work environment characterized by harmonious relationships and effective conflict resolution will serve as a compelling factor in attracting and retaining talent, making this investment highly worthwhile and providing a measurable ROI. Beyond creating more supportive, cooperative work environments, the implementation of these measures also underscores a company's commitment to the wellbeing of its employees.

The workspace program will also provide a strategic benefit to HMS as we take a holistic approach. What happens at work comes home. What happens at home comes to work. Therefore, when we work with companies, we will also be offering training and services to all of their employees, through HMS practitioners.

Solutions for Teachers:

Finally, as an initial step towards bringing policy into schools, we will initiate a Harmonic Teachers certification program to help teachers in the class and within their institutions.

Marketing:

Our marketing initiatives have started with the approval of the Google Ad Grant, amounting to CAD $10,000 per month. Leveraging this, we will soon run ads to create a pre-launch list for HarmonicCouples.com. Given the results achieved by similar not-for-profits, we anticipate the possibility of scaling to 50-100 daily sign-ups from the grant alone.

This initial momentum should generate sufficient revenue to allow us to explore additional marketing platforms for further expansion. Furthermore, we are supported by a team of business and marketing advisors, and our Executive Director brings extensive marketing experience to the table. Our comprehensive content marketing strategy is set to provide an abundant source of materials for marketing blogs, short videos, and other promotional activities.

In addition, we will soon start LinkedIN outreach campaigns to connect with life and relationship coaches, therapists, counsellors, court-appointed mediators, and other helping occupations to welcome them into our certification programs and increase awareness of NVC-based empathy and conflict resolution in these professions.

Separately, marketing will be done by John Reel's Thrive Decks to promote the relationship kit and Wheel Of Life. As part of our partnership, Thrive Decks and HMS will promote each other. We may have a similar arrangement with John Kinyon's Mediate Your Life app.

Teams:

Once our marketing efforts gather steam, we will reach out to the NVC, HMS communities, and other experts in our networks to form a blend of staff positions and volunteer roles. Our goal is to enlist the best individuals for the task, irrespective of their prior NVC experience. Perks will be offered to staff and volunteers, including free access to our courses, certification, and HMS membership.

Revenue Generation:

The sustainability and growth of our organization are paramount, and for this, we understand the importance of multiple income streams, which has been an integral part of our plan since the beginning. In addition to large-scale donations and grants, our revenue generation strategies include:

a) A monthly subscription to access additional workshops.
b) Weekly support groups of 10 couples each, led by HMS Conversation Facilitators.
c) A revenue-sharing model with practitioners doing client sessions.
d) A nominal monthly membership fee for practitioners.
e) Requests for donations during checkouts.
f) Weekend client workshops and retreats.
g) Professional conferences online and in-person.

We will also continually explore other avenues for revenue generation.

Revenue Spend:

As a not-for-profit, generated revenue will be spent to:

a) Increase our reach.
b) Pay staff and service providers.
c) License technology to increase efficiency.
d) Provide professional development training to underserved and underrepresented communities.
e) Shape public policy for the greater good.
f) Support the expansion of CNVC.