Grant Policy

Every year since 2003, The Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism has made grants to a variety of organizations that support the Foundation’s mission and vision. As meditation and mindfulness have become increasingly accepted in American society, we have been able to further expand the scope of our philanthropic activities.

 General Policy on Grant Making

The Lenz Foundation makes grants to United States based IRS tax exempt 501c3 public charities for programs in the United States. The Foundation does not make grants to individuals or for the acquisition of capital assets such as land, buildings and remodeling of facilities.  The Foundation does not fund film projects.

Over the past two decades of grant-making, we have honed our focus and approach. We currently make grants in these categories:

• Buddhist Scholarship
• Buddhist Media and Technology
• End of Life Care
• BIPOC, Disadvantaged Communities
• Prisons, Law and the Justice System
• Meditation and Mindfulness – Buddhist
• Meditation and Mindfulness – Schools K-12
• Meditation and Mindfulness – Other
• Women in Buddhism

The Foundation favors grant applications devoted to programs that have the potential to beneficially impact the broadest American audience and which primarily rely on financing from other sources with potential for sustainability.

Foundation grants tend to range from $2,500 – $25,000.

Larger “recoverable” grants up to $100,000 are available under the Pay it Forward Program.

Grant-making, 2023 – closed

Grant-making, 2024

From May 4, 2023 through September 30, 2023, the Foundation will accept grant applications for its 2024 grant theme:    Women Leaders in Buddhism, described below.
 
If you seek to apply for a grant, please review our general policy on grant-making, then write us an email containing the name of your US-based IRS tax exempt 501c3 public charity and a brief, two- to three-sentence description of your proposed program (or your request for general support), including how it aligns with the Women Leaders in Buddhism and/or mindfulness/meditation programming for women.  Please send to info@fredericklenzfoundation.org. 
 
Assuming your program aligns with our 2024 grant theme, we will reply promptly with a link to our online grant application form. We sincerely appreciate your early submission of a grant application as this helps us in our planning and communications. Please note that submitting an application does not guarantee funding, and funding will take place in 2024.

Women Leaders in Buddhism 2024 Grant Theme

From the time of the Buddha to the present, women have played an important part in the flourishing of the dharma, but their stories have been lost and their contributions forgotten. Newly surfaced histories of Buddhist realized women practitioners, activist nuns, and a new generation of female teachers and leaders are creating an exciting wave of change. It is no longer a rarity to find Buddhist women leaders and role models, but is enough being done? How are female leaders inspired and cultivated? What kinds of Buddhist leadership do these women exhibit, and how do they serve sentient beings? How can this trend develop and grow?

“You cannot be what you cannot see.“ This phrase has been used to promote leaders in media and STEM fields. As contemporary women exemplify change and growth, develop educational and training programs, and uncover a vast historic library of powerful Buddhist females, the time is right for Buddhist women to see who they can be. They can deepen their practice, awaken their realization and lead their communities to the full flower of the dharma.

In 2024, Lenz Foundation grants will cover the emergent, broad-based field of women’s leadership in Buddhism, bringing women to the foreground in innovative ways and creating programming for empowering women.

Please visit the Women in Buddhism page to learn more about our foundation’s longtime roots in this topic.  Thank you for your interest in the Lenz Foundation. We look forward to hearing from you!