Pratt Institute
200 Willoughby Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205
website: pratt.edu
Description of Organization:
Pratt Institute is a private institution based in Brooklyn, New York The school was founded in 1887, focusing on engineering, architecture, and visual arts. Pratt Institute’s mission is to educate artists and creative professionals to be responsible contributors to society. Pratt seeks to instill in all graduates aesthetic judgment, professional knowledge, collaborative skills, and technical expertise. It was among the first colleges in the United States to welcome students of every background, regardless of social standing, race, or gender, offering opportunity to a new diverse professional class, anchored in the surrounding communities. DEIA and Civic Engagement remain key institutional pillars and drivers, reflected in Pratt’s cultivation of an academic environment free of hate, bias, discrimination and/or harassment and a rich array of community, industry, and school partnerships.
Grant(s) Awarded
In 2026, a grant of $7,300 was awarded to support the Enlightened Women’s Leadership Program, created by Pratt’s Mindfulness Collaboratory, which supports BIPOC women in Brooklyn facing caregiving stress, isolation, and systemic inequities. Through free, trauma-informed workshops rooted in mindfulness and storytelling, participants build resilience, restore trust, and strengthen community connections. With support from the Lenz Foundation, women reclaim leadership and extend these benefits through peer-led networks.
In 2024, a grant of $12,500 was awarded to support The Mindfulness Collaboratory, an initiative within the Pratt Institute, in enabling the development, testing, and production of a new curriculum to train women in mindfulness and contemplative self-care. This module, titled “Enlightened Women’s Leadership Training: Meditation and Contemplative Empowerment” is a program for developing a calm, collected and concentrated mind to improve the ability to manage and cope with daily stressors and to dismantle barriers to personal and professional achievement and fulfillment based on Buddhist philosophy and foundational principles. It represents an advancement of the Collaboratory’s successful approach to bringing the teachings of the Dalai Lama on Buddhism and leadership to creatives.