We are excited to announce the first Temple Foundation Peace Grant Cycle. Over the next 12 months, 25 Grantees will receive $5,000 USD each to support a proposed project or activity that advances peace in the world here and now.
Note from our Directors
The Temple Foundation works to effectively distribute the funds entrusted to us to spiritual peacemakers making a clear and positive impact in their communities.
How to most effectively distribute these funds and measure their impact, though, remains an open question. We are committed to finding good answers. We not only hope to support this type of peace work, but to develop ethical qualitative and quantitative methods to better understand how spiritual peace is created, how to sustainably fund it, and what its social and economic effects are, so that we can show to ourselves and others, with clarity, how beneficial it is to invest in this common good.
Our partners are people who teach invaluable mind-body practices around the world to humanitarians supporting displaced persons and survivors of gender-based violence, to social leaders whose communities have been struck by war and genocide, and to children in under-resourced schools. Our partners train meditation instructors who build communities of care and respect across the divide between inmates and guards within Latin American prisons. Our partners are creating restorative forest communities in India, East Africa and Eastern Europe where human beings are able to heal bits of the Earth and their relationships to this planet, our mother. Our partners are creating networks of Nigerian youth dedicated to cultivating peace in a nation marked by a tragic instability that stunts the rich life within its borders.
We are eager to broaden and strengthen our own growing network of peacemakers through our first strategic grant cycle. We hope there will be many more to come. Thank you for taking the time to read these words, and for those who apply, to tell us about your dreams and labors.
Martha Rabchuk and Javi Dichupa
Co-Directors, Temple Foundation
"At this very moment, for all the peoples and the nations of the earth, may not even the names 'disease,' 'famine,' 'war' and 'suffering' be heard - rather may moral conduct, merit, wealth and prosperity increase and may supreme good fortune and well-being always arise for them." Dudjom Rinpoche
01
creating generative peace networks
We encourage the submission of projects grounded in a spiritual peace practice* that aligns with one or more of the following:
05
challenging and broadening current understandings of 'peace'.
02
conflict mediation, reconciliation, and transformation.
03
contributing to peace between humans and other living beings.
04
supporting bearers of historically under-resourced peace traditions
*Our working concepts of 'peace' and 'spiritual practice' 'Peace' is a responsive disposition of care for self and others: without suppression, it embraces and transforms conflicts within living beings and their communities. A 'spiritual peace practice' is one that cultivates the inner spaciousness, strength, flexibility, and good humor needed to fully embody this disposition.
Eligibility & Reporting Requirements
Eligible Applicants
Applicants must be
-
non-profit organizations with one to seven paid team members; or,
-
individuals who can collaborate with a non-profit organization or fiscal sponsor that can receive the grant for the proposed project; and,
-
currently unaffiliated with the Temple Foundation
Eligible Project Formats
-
events/workshops
-
courses/retreats
-
media productions
-
community building/support
-
peacemaking activities
-
development of spiritual peace methodologies and practices
Eligible Project Qualities
The proposed project must be grounded in a spiritual practice, and we encourage the submission of projects that:
-
create generative peace networks that can grow independently of the implementing organization;
-
mediate, reconcile and transform conflicts;
-
contribute to peace between humans and other living beings;
-
directly resource the bearers of peace traditions that have historically been under-resourced; and/or
-
challenge, broaden and strengthen current understandings of 'peace'.
Implementation and Reporting
Implementation period
The project should be completed or implemented and operating within six months of grant receipt.
Reporting period
The grantee should report the impacts and shortcomings of the project within seven months of grant receipt. We will collaborate with recipients in determining the best method of reporting.
Application Form, Materials & Deadlines
To be considered for the grant, fill out the application form. In addition to filling out the form you will be asked to upload pdf documents of the following supporting materials*:
-
two brief, written endorsements from professional colleagues;
-
a detailed budget spreadsheet for your project;
-
proof of non-profit or equivalent status in the jurisdiction where your organization or your sponsor organization currently operates.
Strongly encouraged: Documentation demonstrating your success doing projects of similar nature and scale to the one proposed.
Language: Materials must be submitted in English. If you are not comfortable working in English, write* to tell us your preferred language. We will try to find a suitable translator.
*If you have trouble uploading documents through the portal or have other grant-related questions, write to us at grants@thetemplefoundation.org.
Important Dates and Timelines
Submission period: April 14, 2024 to February 14, 2025
Decision period and process: Within one month of receiving your proposal, we will either invite you to an informal interview, or notify you that we cannot support your project within this grant cycle. After an interview, we will either move to fund your project, or add your proposal to a 'reserve-pool' that we will draw from over the course of this cycle in accord with our allocation strategy. You may withdraw your application from this 'pool' at any time.