Dear GTI community,

We are excited to update you on a number of developments unfolding within Gentle Teaching International (GTI).

Over the past several months, the GTI Board of Directors has been actively discussing the role of the Board and how to best support our growing GTI family.

We are all in agreement that our purpose is to support the good work happening around the world; however, we have also debated the necessity of maintaining the formality of a legal, non-profit organization. In doing so, we require ongoing adherence to strict regulatory requirements, coupled with ongoing financial requirements to maintain it.

Our Board is made up of passionate GT practitioners and our goal is that GTI provide practical and motivational support to GT practitioners around the world. With that said, there has been a growing concern among board members about our governance structure, ongoing legal requirements and the maintenance of our non-profit status. To date, our non-profit status has NOT yielded any tangible benefits for GTI.

With that said, the Board has determined that it would be ideal for GTI to transition from a formal association, registered and incorporated in Canada, into an international network comprised of regional groups. We strongly believe that this transition will allow us all to focus on the important work of supporting our regional networks (Canada, USA and Europe).

With this new structure, in essence, GTI will continue as it has long been — a network of people collaborating around the world to strengthen the work of Gentle Teaching. Moreover, key contacts will be identified by each region to work in collaboration for the creation of opportunities for practitioners around the world to gather online to support each other, share stories, and support our collective efforts to provide better care for people. These key contacts will collaborate within their region to support training, formalize regional mentor certification processes, while also bringing forth an expression of interest to host an international conference – our cherished platform for gathering and sharing knowledge and expertise.

Additionally, another outcome of this transition is that GTI will no longer have a financial need to tend to the costs of maintaining a registered non-profit organization.  As such, GTI will no longer require a fee structure – all organizations that made payment to GTI in 2020 have now been reimbursed.

We are confident that this important change will prove positive, moving GTI forward in a more collaborative, supportive manner that allows us to focus on nurturing Connectedness, Companionship and Community.

Respectfully,