Letter of Intent
Submitted by: Jordan Ashley
Founder & Executive Director, Souljourn Yoga Foundation
EIN: 47-2886236
Contact: jordan@souljournyoga.com | (310) 923-6620
To Whom it May Concern,
Thank you for your interest in corporate sponsorship for my nonprofit, Souljourn Yoga Foundation. We are a US 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness and funds for young women’s education worldwide. Souljourn Yoga is focused on addressing gender inequity in education and the workforce by partnering with community-based organizations to empower girls and young women through access to education, body-conscious empowerment, and culturally adaptive wellness practices (such as yoga and meditation).
We respectfully express our interest in securing corporate sponsorship to support our 2025 programming and operational needs.
Organizational Phase
Souljourn Yoga Foundation is currently in a growth and expansion phase. Since our founding in 2016, we’ve hosted yoga-based retreats and teacher training programs across ten countries. As we move forward in 2025, we’re focused on deepening the reach of our On the Ground Yoga Teacher Training programs, launching storytelling campaigns to elevate impact, and strengthening our operational capacity.
Mission Statement
Souljourn Yoga Foundation is a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit that creates transformational yoga retreats and teacher training programs to raise awareness and funds for young women’s education around the world. Our name is inspired by seva, the Sanskrit word and yogic principle of selfless service (the soul); sojourn, which captures the essence of being in a place and time; and yoga, which means union, balance, and connection. Through this lens, we use yoga as a tool for empowerment, accessibility, and cross-cultural collaboration—supporting young women to rise through education, wellness, and community care.
Who We Serve
Our programs support young women from underserved communities, particularly in regions where access to secondary education and wellness services are limited. These include:
● Girls and young women in post-genocide Rwanda navigating intergenerational trauma
● Indigenous Amazigh teens in Morocco’s High Atlas Mountains—often the first in their families to access formal education and also survivors of the 2023 earthquake of which they were at the epicenter
● Participants in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Nicaragua, and the U.S. facing systemic social and economic barriers
Each program is intentionally co-created with local organizations and centers wellness as a critical part of education and empowerment.
Program Overview & 2025 Vision
In 2025, we will deliver up to four cycles of our On the Ground Yoga Teacher Training.
This program explores how learning yoga and other holistic practices—such as meditation and creative expression through movement—can positively impact women in the Eastern Province of Rwanda and adolescent girls in the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco. The project examines how yoga can serve as a bridge between the internal and external world by offering a variation of embodied practices and tools that foster connection, healing, and self-awareness.
We aim to investigate how these practices can empower women in the Global South through what I call body-conscious empowerment. Unlike traditional definitions of empowerment that hinge solely on economic or political gains, our model begins with “conscious raising” of the physical body itself—treating the body as the vehicle for all other forms of empowerment. Through this lens, participants are invited to define empowerment on their own terms, rooted in embodied experience, agency, and self-awareness. Our training is designed to be both accessible and adaptable, especially for populations with no prior exposure to yoga or mindfulness practices.
Program goals include:
● Train and certify 40+ young women in yoga and wellness facilitation
● Provide supportive resources including meals, transportation, and materials
● Deepen partnerships with local organizations through capacity-building
● Launch storytelling and impact campaigns via photography, film, and writing
● Invest in operational support to strengthen our team and infrastructure
● Our work has been featured in global publications and platforms:
● TEDx Talk (Hanoi, 2017): Girls' education and giving: how to create a global community
● Forbes – She Combined Her Love of Travel and Yoga to Support Girls’ Education Around the World
● Marie Claire UK – What is Souljourn Yoga and why should you be trying it?
● Country & Town House – Can Yoga Be a Force for Good?
● Yoga Journal – Are You An Ethical Traveler?
● Robb Report – Where Yoga Meets Social Activism
2025 Combined Budget Overview
On the Ground Yoga Teacher Trainings in the Global South (4 Total Cycles)
Souljourn Yoga Foundation is committed to building inclusive, community-led models of education and wellness that uplift the voices and potential of young women around the world. Your support would enable us to scale this work with intention, integrity, and impact.
Thank you for your consideration and we look forward to discussing next steps with you.
Warm regards,
Jordan Ashley
Founder & Executive Director
Souljourn Yoga Foundation
jordan@souljournyoga.com | (310) 923-6620
