Dharma Outreach Program
“This retreat brought me back to my self, my body, my spirit in ways that I couldn’t
previously fathom.”
Thanks to your generous support, the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation is happy to offer small grants through our Dharma Outreach Program. We are actively engaged in supporting initiatives that offer the teachings and practices of Thich Nhat Hanh, strengthen opportunities for Sangha building, and support transformation and healing in circumstances where there may not otherwise be sufficient resources for these efforts to manifest and blossom.
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Impacts Of This Program
Ancestry in Progress Retreat
Offering refuge for People of Color and LGBT
With funding from this program, in 2019 the Many Faces Sangha in Philadelphia hosted a residential retreat centered on Black, Indigenous and other People of Color, LGBT individuals, and others who are typically marginalized in spiritual circles. Participants spent the weekend exploring their connection to their ancestry and revitalizing it in order to practice in the present moment to heal and transform themselves and the world. Led by senior Dharma teachers Dr. Larry Ward and Dr. Peggy Rowe Ward, retreatants learned ways to come home to their bodies and build resiliency skills for trauma.
“Sangha spaces that center POC, LGBTQIA+, and other voices are helping change the heart of a racist and traumatized country.”
Mindfulness Books for Inmates
Bringing liberation into prison
Your generosity purchased 60 new copies of Thich Nhat Hanh’s book, The Miracle of Mindfulness, given to inmates as part of a 6-week mindfulness course at the Limestone Correctional Facility. Every inmate who has taken the class has expressed the desire to continue practice in a group setting, whether it is sitting meditation or readings by Thich Nhat Hanh with discussion. The wider community started to notice! One community member donated 16 meditation cushions for the monthly sitting group to use. Another began donating their time to help continue reflection, reading, and practice for the men who want to continue to grow and develop in their mindfulness path. The men at Limestone are hungry for more readings, continued teaching, and building of their practice. At this prison in Alabama, mindfulness has taken flight.
“Learning about mindfulness has brought me a sense of calm and serenity like I have never known in my life.”
Recording The Chants
Bringing Monastic Voices Into Your Home
In 2018, funding from this program produced a new album of chanting by the monastics in Plum Village France. While the end product may seem simple, behind the scenes voice coaching, recording production skills, and other areas of expertise were needed for Chanting As A River to manifest. In our monasteries, chants and recitations help to strengthen our practice of mindfulness, nourishing the wholesome seeds of love and understanding within us. Now this high-quality recording is available for practitioners to use at home.
“We offer these chants with the wish that they may be of benefit to you, your family, your community, and all beings.”
How to Apply
Who may apply?
We encourage community leaders and organizers to submit an application, particularly those representing BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and other marginalized or underrepresented groups. Individuals applying to the Foundation for personal scholarships are currently ineligible.
Please note that we only consider grants that continue and incorporate Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings and practices.
Checklist to assist you in knowing if this is the right grant for your project:
Is your proposed project…
Rooted in and continuing the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh?
A one-time project with a beginning and end? (For example, a retreat or educational course; even if you are planning on a similar event in the future, the grant request would still be for a single, distinct event)
Benefiting a group, and not an individual?
Requesting approximately $5,000 or less? (Grant amounts typically range from $500 - $2,500)
If you answered “no” to any of these questions, this may not be the right grant for your project and we recommend you search for a different organization that can better support your vision.
Examples of projects that may be supported:
Practice centers or Sanghas in Thich Nhat Hanh’s tradition that are organizing a retreat, whether offered by monastic or lay Dharma teachers. Sanghas could use these funds to award retreat scholarships to make the event more accessible; travel reimbursement or honoraria for Dharma teachers; and/or promotion and marketing.
Programs in schools and prisons that teach Thich Nhat Hanh’s mindfulness practices
New online Dharma resources in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh
When is the deadline?
We are accepting applications during these times:
February 1 - 29, 2024; applicants notified by March 31, 2024; disbursement of funds in April 2024
August 1 - 31, 2024; applicants notified by September 30, 2024; disbursement of funds in October 2024
What are the expectations after funds are awarded?
Reporting:
Recipients must submit a final report on how the funds were used; this is required and part of the agreement. By taking the time to report, you are helping the Foundation share the impact of Thay’s teachings with the community. This nourishes donors and inspires them to give in order to continue the Foundation’s ability to offer grant funds. Thank you in advance for practicing our interconnectedness with each other.
Financial:
Grant funds are taxable income. As the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation is located in the United States, we are legally required to report awards of $600 and above to the IRS. Please keep this in mind when you are making your request.
Reporting
Within 90 days after receipt of the grant funds or after completion of the program/event, the applicant/Sangha will submit a report to the Foundation using the link above. It includes:
1. A description of the program or event and its impacts:
What was this funding for? What activities/services did this funding allow you to provide?
What type(s) of mindfulness teachings were incorporated?
How has the Sangha grown as a result of the funding (for example, a new Sangha forming, new connections made between Sanghas, etc.)?
Transformational stories: Tell us about a person(s) who was positively changed by this program/funding. Using first names (real or made up) and with as many quotes as possible, tell us how their world view, their lifestyle, or their thinking may have shifted, how an element of their suffering was transformed into something beneficial, or how their mindfulness practice was affected?
2. Photos of the program or event
These will help the Foundation and others in our community understand the vision and context of the program; if photos are not available or do not apply to your program, please let us know.
The applicant/Sangha understands that the photos submitted may be used in newsletters and other printed and online publications of the Foundation and agrees to obtain an appropriate release from all individuals whose images appear in any photos submitted to the Foundation.
3. A spreadsheet with a detailed accounting of how the grant funds were expended
4. Scanned copies of all receipts
Transformational Stories
Transformational stories are at the heart of grant reporting for the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation. Why? Because when we share the deep and healing impact of the Dharma, it inspires our community to continue the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, whether it be through their own personal practice, sangha building, or giving to the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation.
Ideally, transformational stories come from the first person perspective (using “I” statements). We suggest you gather these through observation, event surveys, or by inviting participants to submit their reflections after the program. Please be sure to get permission from the participant for the Foundation to use these quotes on our website, social media, email, and printed donor material.
The following are excellent examples of quotes and transformational stories.
Short Quote:
"I loved this retreat. After many years of recovery, this was the first time that I had publicly integrated my spiritual life and my AA practice. It felt liberating, expansive, and like another homecoming. I particularly loved holding the space for those who received the Five Mindfulness Trainings. Sister D's talk on addiction to suffering was poignant for me: it is important to not be stuck in the suffering but live in the solution, not the problem." - Person in Recovery (Magnolia Grove Monastery 12 Step Retreat 2016)
Medium Length Quote:
“I initially went to Blue Cliff Monastery hoping to get answers. Instead, Blue Cliff helped me realize that I already had the answers--what I needed to learn was how to ask the right questions. Through meditative practice, mindful eating and mindful being, I was not only able to gain a deeper understanding of who I am as a living being in the world, but I was also able to gain a deeper understanding of how this awareness of self can actually enhance the effectiveness of my social justice work. By truly seeing who I am in the now, I give myself the beautiful opportunity to see who others are in the now, and vice versa. Thank you Blue Cliff for the clarity you have given me!” - Steffi, Alumni (CUNY BCM Retreat 2016)
Long Story:
There are many stories of transformation, but one in particular I’d like to share. When Larry arrived at the retreat he seemed quite isolated. He did not return smiles nor did he appear at ease. He remained stern and separate from the sangha —until the Tea Ceremony when he stood to ask if he could share something with the sangha. He invited a woman from his dharma sharing group to stand beside him. And this is what he told us:
“I grew up in a Jewish Orthodox family in Germany with a father who experienced deep suffering. When my father was 10 years old, he escaped from Pogroms in the Ukraine and hid inside a wall in Warsaw Poland to await escape. Many of his family died in the Holocaust. Because of this past suffering, any time I smiled as a child, my father would yell at me: 'In a world that allowed 6,000,000 Jews to be exterminated, there is no place for smiling.' I grew up thinking that smiling was a bad thing and it was not allowed. Until the retreat."
As it happened, Eleanor, the woman standing next to him, was a German Catholic whose father was a soldier in the German army. Along with thousands of other starving children she was airlifted to Switzerland to receive medical care at the end of the war. Her family suffered terribly.
In the atmosphere of trust and safety cultivated by sangha, these two friends were able to share their own suffering and hear each other’s suffering. They recognized that their suffering was shared between themselves, their group and beyond. When they stood before the sangha they held hands to tell us their story, both smiling. Larry shared he had never hugged a German before. And as the sangha wept with tenderness and love, Eleanor and Larry practiced hugging meditation before the entire community. Later, Larry received the 5 mindfulness trainings and was given the Dharma name, "Smiling River of the Heart".
We know we were all lucky that the conditions came together so beautifully for us. With gratitude to the Foundation for helping us bring this retreat to fruition and the continuing delight for the presence of our teachers, we thank you for your generosity.
-Jane & Larry (Boston Old Path Sangha 2016)
Questions?
Please contact us at grants@thichnhathanhfoundation.org