A letter from Katarina Halm.

Dear Feldenkrais® Colleagues,

In addition to this letter, the tabs on our page also include the individual points below for ease of reference.

We now have a program entitled Feldenkrais® Inclusion Initiative “Reaching Out to More Communities” at feldenkraisinclusioninitiative.org and would love for you to teach if you may like to add one of your ongoing classes or a new class. (Much gratitude to those twelve colleagues who are already involved.)

MISSION STATEMENT

Our mission is to make Feldenkrais Method® classes accessible to communities who have not had the opportunity to experience this work, including, but not limited to, young people and people of color. The transformative aspects of the Feldenkrais Method which include improving self-awareness, finding a sense of well-being and empowerment are the birthright of all people and should be shared as widely as possible.
— Our project is part of the Feldenkrais Legacy Forum —

Our project is Beta Testing.
Part of the Feldenkrais® Legacy Younger and More Diverse ‘YMD’ Working Group

In reaching out to broader communities and sharing with them the opportunity to experience these life-affirming benefits, we broaden our own lives and practice. We believe the project will contribute to the sustainability of the Feldenkrais profession.

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CLARIFICATIONS ON PAYMENT AND POSSIBLE DEDUCTIONS FOR EXPENSES

Master Feldenkrais teachers and also those beginning to teach are welcomed to contribute classes free of charge or on a ‘pay as you can’ basis. The signup forms clearly state whether each teacher offers free of charge or on a ‘pay as you can’ basis. For those classes listed as free of charge, we will ensure that no fees whatsoever are asked of the students after they have participated in the program.

IRS Deductions for Services or Expenses

Quoting Thomas S. Pappas, MSA, CNAP | Senior Consultant | Virtual, Inc.:
“This has been my experience and understanding as well that Volunteer “Time” is not allowed as a deduction by the IRS.”

Thomas S. Pappas, also mentions that for those offering classes free of charge you may contact your own CPA regarding a possible deduction for the donation of services.

Quoting from an article below stating that IRS Deductions cannot be taken for services offered freely.[ Note: It Looks like the IRS does not allow you to assign a value to your time for charitable donation purposes. But certain expenses related to the charitable work may be claimed.] Quoting from https://cullinanelaw.com/can-i-deduct-the-value-of-my-volunteer-service-to-a-nonprofit/

“Can I deduct the value of my volunteer service to a nonprofit? The IRS will not allow individuals to deduct the monetary value of their volunteer service to a nonprofit on their individual income tax returns. But volunteers may be able to deduct for certain volunteer expenses.
1. No monetary deduction for volunteer time and service.
Volunteers cannot deduct the monetary value of their time volunteering to an organization. (The general rule is that you donate cash or items for it to count as a deduction).

Example: An individual volunteers three hours of her time in the mail room at a nonprofit organization. Normally, the nonprofit would pay a staff person for this service at a rate of $10 per hour. Great work…but the individual cannot claim a monetary deduction of $30 for this volunteer service.
Example: An attorney gives 5 hours of pro bono work to a nonprofit she supports. Her legal rate is $200/hour. Great work…but she cannot deduct that $1,000 as a monetary deduction on her taxes.
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Contributing Financially to the Project

Additionally, opportunities to contribute financially to the project as a whole may be announced through Legacy Forum official posts.

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TEACHING FOR OUR PROJECT

Currently, several teachers and a nonprofit collective of Feldenkrais teachers are offering classes for the project. Outlined below are ways to participate if you are interested or have not yet confirmed your involvement. Once you let us know the dates and times and any details you wish included there will be a listing for you at feldenkraisinclusioninitiative.org!

Offer any of the following:

1) Live online or in-person classes for which students may sign up: Sign up for Classes with Feldenkrais® Inclusion Initiative

2) Pre-recorded classes for which students may sign up: Sign up for Pre-recorded Classes with Feldenkrais® Inclusion Initiative

3) Videos from conference presentations and/or other resources which may also be available: Sign up for Videos and Resources with Feldenkrais® Inclusion Initiative

Please complete our form on our teacher’s page

You may also email Katarina:;[email protected]
Or Telephone 1 604 263 9123 (Vancouver BC Canada)

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RESEARCH AND LOGISTICS

Research Project – Logistics

The sign-ups and profiles of the students are being tracked on our Feldenkrais® Inclusion Initiative Organizational Metrics Sheet (you could request access if you are interested) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1km1ebUUwZK2v1leKH13TAH_Ie0oCOcHLGTarB3nXbTA/edit#gid=0

Prospectus
Through our teaching, the Feldenkrais Method will be represented as a distinct profession. Thus, we support and clarify that Feldenkrais can become a viable step towards creating jobs working in local communities, institutions, and/or online.

* Success of the project will increase public awareness about the Feldenkrais Method and model the Feldenkrais standards of practice.

* We plan to foster professional ethics (including Professional Dialogue) among the Feldenkrais teachers in our Feldenkrais® Inclusion Initiative.

* We plan to promote and facilitate the education and training of persons who wish to become authorized practitioners and teachers of the Feldenkrais Method.

* We plan to promote, sponsor and conduct research in the Feldenkrais Method Develop a Research Project including the study of the following the guidelines from Eveline Wu’s presentation at the 2012/2013 Feldenkrais conference: https://www.academia.edu/4360520/A_Proposed_Project_for_Practitioners_to_Write_Feldenkrais_Case_Studies

* We look forward to the March 2022 publication of notes from the January meeting of the
International Feldenkrais® Federation (IFF) Research Working Group (IFFRWG). (https://feldenkrais-method.org/research/research-w…_ /

More Information: https://sites.google.com/feldenkrais-method.org/researchgroup / https://feldsci.net/ ) .

* Thinking: Several of us spoke about thoughts for a research project in relation to Amherst Study Group https://thinkinginmovement.ca/amherst/ and Feldenkrais® Inclusion Initiative Reaching Out to More Communities. We look forward to your further thoughts fostering our next developments.

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With appreciation and devotion to learning,
Katarina for the Feldenkrais Legacy Forum

Katarina Halm, M.A.
Feldenkrais® GCFP
1 604 263 9123 (Vancouver BC Canada)
[email protected]
thinkinginmovement.ca
feldenkraisinclusioninitiative.org