COMMON MAPS
Map version new-york activity top-down
Main site Contact
Menu
↑ parent activity group ·
research dossier

SOARINGWORDS INC

NEW YORK, NY · EIN 061602568 · Form 990EZ · FY2024 · NTEE E86 · Health Care · Micro (<$100K) · soaringwords.org
revenue
$81K
expenses
$124K
net assets
$-55K
employees
program ratio
62%
mission · from form 990

SUPPORT NETWORKS TO ASSIST AND HELP CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES COPE WITH CATASTROPHIC EVENTS AS WELL AS CHRONIC AND TERMINAL ILLNESS.

profile · synthesized from sources

Soaringwords Inc. is a nonprofit organization founded by Lisa Buksbaum that helps children and families cope with illness, trauma, and medical crises through healing imagery and positive psychology practices. The organization has reached over 500,000 individuals globally by promoting active self-healing and emotional resilience. It operates through direct programs and workshops delivered in hospitals, schools, and organizations worldwide.

named programs · 3 · from sources

What they call their work

Healing Imagery Sessions
One-on-one and family sessions using mental imagery techniques to support self-healing, reduce stress, and regain emotional balance during medical crises.
SOARING Into Positive Wellbeing Initiative
Global program that teaches healing imagery exercises to help individuals and families improve physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing during illness and trauma.
SOARING into Imagery Workshops
Workshops conducted in hospitals, schools, and organizations to teach practical imagery tools for resilience, calm, and inner strength.
activities · 4 groups

What they do

  • Mental Health Education and Awareness 2 activities
    • Delivering wellbeing workshops for children, families, and professionals
      Hosts virtual and in-person workshops grounded in Positive Psychology to support physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing for children, families, and professionals. These include the SOARING Into Positive Wellbeing Initiative and SOARING into Growth Mindset workshop series, delivered to over 500,000 individuals since 2000, including more than 150,000 professionals at Fortune 500 companies.
    • Providing employee engagement and mental health initiatives for organizations
      Delivers evidence-based wellbeing and growth mindset workshops to corporate employees, including large-scale initiatives such as engaging 5,000 Johnson & Johnson employees globally and serving as the mental health component for the World Economic Forum's Healthy Cities Initiative in Jersey City, Silicon Valley, and Tampa Bay.
  • Program Evaluation and Impact Research 1 activity
    • Conducting research on participant wellbeing outcomes
      Measures shifts in participant wellbeing using pre- and post-workshop surveys to evaluate the impact of its programs on physical, emotional, and mental health.
  • Therapeutic Comfort Kits and Room Makeovers 1 activity
    • Facilitating expressive arts and pay-it-forward projects for pediatric patients
      Organizes donation of expressive arts and writing projects created by participants to pediatric patients at local hospitals, with each workshop module including a pay-it-forward component. Examples include SoaringQuilts® and SoaringPillows® donated to children in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and mentoring programs where employees guide students to create healing projects for hospitalized children.
  • Trauma-Informed Community Resilience Initiatives 1 activity
    • Partnering with hospitals and health agencies to deliver healing programs
      Collaborates with 196 hospitals worldwide and multiple health and human service agencies in North America to deliver healing and wellbeing interventions to individuals experiencing illness and trauma, supporting children and families coping with catastrophic events, chronic or terminal illness.
financials · form 990EZ · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$81K
Contributions & grants$81K100%
Program service revenue
Investment income
Other revenue
expenses
Total expenses$124K
Program expenses62%
Admin / overhead19%
Fundraising19%
Salaries & benefits
Grants paid out
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$47K
Cash$154K
Investments$0
Liabilities$34K
Net assets$-55K
Liquid reserves14.9 mo
4 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue +26.3%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

board members · 7
  • CHRIS MACKEY — ADVISORY BOARD
  • DIANNA WHITNEY — BOARD MEMBER
  • DR GAIL IRONSON — ADVISORY BOARD
  • DR JULIE HAIZLIP — ADVISORY BOARD
  • ELLEN COLE — BOARD MEMBER
  • KAREN GARMAN — Board CHAIR
  • PAMELA NUNEZ DEL PRADO CHAVES — ADVISORY BOARD
relationships · 68

Who they work with

  • Accenture Partner — Corporate partner where Soaringwords has delivered wellbeing interventions
  • Accenture Partner — Partnered with Soaringwords for employee-engagement initiatives and global partner meetings.
  • Alderney Children’s Hospital Partner — Global hospital partner in the United Kingdom where Soaringwords provides programming
  • American Express Partner — Corporate partner where Soaringwords has delivered wellbeing interventions
  • American Express Partner — Partnered with Soaringwords for employee-engagement initiatives.
  • American Institute of Mental Imagery Partner — Lisa studied with Dr. Gerald Epstein, Director of the American Institute of Mental Imagery, to develop her intuitive healing abilities.
  • Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago Partner — Hospital partner where Soaringwords provides wellbeing programming
  • BNY Mellon Partner — Corporate partner that awarded Soaringwords the Chairman’s Award
  • Bank Street College Partner — Education collaborator involved in developing Soaringwords interventions
  • Barnard College Partner — Higher education partner institution collaborating with Soaringwords
  • Chicago Public Schools Partner — Educational partner system where Soaringwords has implemented programs
  • Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Partner — Hospital partner where Soaringwords provides wellbeing programming
  • Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Partner — Hospital partner where Soaringwords provides wellbeing programming
  • Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Partner — Hospital partner where Soaringwords provides wellbeing programming
  • Cisco Partner — Corporate partner that awarded Soaringwords the Growing with Technology Award
  • Columbia University Partner — Higher education partner institution collaborating with Soaringwords
  • Deloitte Partner — Corporate partner where Soaringwords has delivered wellbeing interventions
  • Deloitte Partner — Hosted the first large employee engagement event with Soaringwords, where 355 employees mentored 300 students.
  • Dubbo Base Hospital Partner — Global hospital partner in Australia where Soaringwords provides programming
  • Eli Lilly & Co. Partner — Partnered to implement Soaringwords initiatives in Indianapolis Public Schools with employee mentoring and student projects.
  • Goldman Sachs Partner — Collaborated on civic engagement projects for Community Team Works and Take Your Child to Work Day in multiple cities.
  • Google Partner — Corporate partner where Soaringwords has delivered wellbeing interventions
  • Google Partner — Partnered with Soaringwords for employee-engagement initiatives.
  • Hadassah Medical Center Partner — Global hospital partner in Israel where Soaringwords provides programming
  • Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital Partner — Global hospital partner in Hong Kong where Soaringwords provides programming
  • Hospital Miguel Cuoto Partner — Global hospital partner in Brazil where Soaringwords provides programming
  • Howard University Partner — Higher education partner institution collaborating with Soaringwords
  • Indianapolis Public Schools Partner — Educational partner system where Soaringwords has implemented programs
  • Instituto Nacional de Cancer (INCA) Partner — Global hospital partner in Brazil where Soaringwords provides programming
  • International Thought Leaders Partner — Collaborates with international thought leaders to share insights and wisdom with people served.
+ 38 more
strategies · 5

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Mental and Emotional Practices for Self-Healing Empowerment
    methodology: self_healing_empowerment
    By teaching mental imagery, flow states, and narrative reframing, individuals are empowered to activate internal self-healing capacities, because directing attention inward and accessing psychological flow reduces reliance on external validation and builds intrinsic resilience.
  • Pay-It-Forward Engagement Model
    methodology: pay_it_forward
    By engaging participants in expressive arts, writing, and service projects that are explicitly designed to be passed forward, the organization fosters agency, meaning, and belonging, because contributing to others—even indirectly—transforms personal trauma into purpose and reinforces healing.
  • Positive Psychology Framework with SOARING Model
    methodology: positive_psychology
    By applying a structured seven-principle Positive Psychology framework—Strengths, Optimism, Altruism, Resiliency, Imagery, Narrative, Gratitude—through workshops and immersive activities, participants build internal resources for self-healing and wellbeing, because cultivating these psychological strengths transforms trauma into growth and service.
  • Ripple Effect from Individual to Community Wellbeing
    methodology: ripple_effect
    By designing interventions to transform individual wellbeing first, the organization generates broader cultural and systemic change in care communities, because healed individuals model and propagate positive behaviors, creating cascading impact.
  • Support Networks for Resilience in Health Crises
    methodology: support_networks
    By creating structured emotional and social support networks for children and families facing illness, the organization improves resilience, because intentional peer and community support mitigates trauma and strengthens coping during catastrophic or chronic health events.