About Cala Foundation
The Ismael Cala Foundation is a philanthropic institution dedicated to empowering children and young people through emotional leadership, mindfulness, education, and purpose-driven learning, fostering resilient individuals and communities across the Americas and beyond.
Learn more about who we are and where we come from.
To become a globally recognized philanthropic foundation that shapes how emotional intelligence, conscious leadership, and effective communication are integrated into education, communities, and youth development worldwide, while collectively advancing the social and personal growth of the youth across the Americas and beyond.
Florida is where our commitment to emotional leadership and youth wellbeing takes root. From this diverse and dynamic state, we work across the United States, Latin America, and beyond. At the heart of this work is the Cala Centre, our home base for learning, dialogue, and innovation, a hub where our impact proposition is developed, partnerships are nurtured, and the future of conscious leadership is shaped.
Our guiding principles
We're committed to acting responsibly and upholding our values in all we do.
Learn more about how we operate as a foundation.
We believe emotional intelligence is not a soft skill, but a foundational life skill. ICF advances emotional awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and conscious leadership as essential tools for personal agency, resilience, and social transformation.
We cultivate mindfulness as a practice for clarity, balance, and mental resilience. By integrating inner wellbeing into education and leadership development, we support young people in navigating complexity with presence, purpose, and self-respect.
Every child and young person deserves access to emotional education, leadership tools, and purpose-driven learning regardless of geography, income, or background.
We honour trust. ICF is committed to transparent governance, responsible financial management, ethical partnerships, and long-term stewardship of philanthropic capital in service of mission permanence.
We prioritise depth over noise and quality over scale for its own sake. All impact proposition we deliver is designed with clear outcomes, safeguarding, evaluation, and accountability, ensuring real, measurable impact in the lives of children and young people.
Lasting change is collective. ICF believes in partnerships with educators, communities, donors, and global allies to amplify impact and co-create sustainable solutions.
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