ARIZONA FRIENDS OF TIBET
2023 GRANT APPLICATION NOW OPEN
HOW TO COMPLETE AND SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION
We are mindful that some grant applicants may not have sustained access to the Internet. Therefore, we have created two ways for you to complete and submit your application:
1. Press here to complete and submit directly on our website using our Google Form Application.
2. Press here to download, complete, and submit via email or mail. You may email your application to grants@afot.org, or mail it to:
Arizona Friends of Tibet, Inc.
P.O. Box 1116
Sahuarita, AZ 85629, USA
If you have any questions about the grant application process, please email grants@afot.org or call (01) 520-477-6943.
ARIZONA FRIENDS OF TIBET GRANTS
100% OF EVERY DOLLAR YOU DONATE GOES DIRECTLY TO OUR CAREFULLY-VETTED GRANTEE ORGANIZATIONS
Like many of us, you may receive appeals from various Tibetan Buddhist groups. We make it easy for you to choose, because when you donate to Arizona Friends of Tibet you can be assured that we thoroughly vet each grant request. In most cases, at least one member of the Board of Directors has a personal connection with the head teacher and/or group. Most of our grantees are located in Tibet, Nepal, India and Bhutan, where even a small donation can have a major impact due to cost of living.
In 2023, Tibetan Buddhist communities and organizations continue to struggle with the effects of COVID-19. Local communities have been decimated, and they can no longer support the monastics or even feed themselves. Thanks to your generous donations we have been able to add emergency lifesaving COVID-19 relief funds to our regular grants. In 2022 we also made special, one-time grants to two Tibetan centers providing critical services to Ukrainian refugees.
OUR RECENT GRANTS – INFORMATION AND PHOTOS
1. SUPPORT FOR MONASTICS, ELDERS, ORPHANS AND COMMUNITIES
Bon Children’s Home
Dolanji, India
The Bon Children’s Home provides food, clothing, shelter, education and medical care for approximately 200 children, grades K-12. The Bon Children’s Home also provides scholarships for graduates who wish to receive higher education at a college or trade school. Our grant were used for food, medicine, and reroofing one of the children’s dormitories.
Children’s School at Druk Zangri Khamar
Rawabi Village, Bhutan
Druk Zangri Khamar is the seat of Machig Labdrön’s lineage in Bhutan. AFOT’s grant provides ongoing financial support for the children’s school and building repairs. Druk Zangri Khamar is an important cultural center that preserves this precious Tibetan Buddhist lineage. Many sacred relics from Tibet are kept at Druk Zangri Khamar.
Drikung Kagyu Monastery
Rewalsar (Tso Pema), India
The monastery is home to young monks, nuns and teachers primarily from the remote Trans-Himalayan region of North India. They receive a full general education as well as Tibetan Buddhist training. With our grant, the monastery was able to feed, clothe and educate residents as well as provide critical food and PPE for more than 200 people in the monastery’s area. Recipients include local poor Indians, Tibetans, and migrant workers trapped by travel shutdowns.
Jampa Choling Nunnery
Kinnaur, India
This nunnery in Kinnaur, India is unusual because the local residents chose to build and support a nunnery rather than the traditional monastery. However, severe economic conditions and then the COVID-19 pandemic have hit hard. Yet these nuns continue to receive a full public education in addition to Tibetan Buddhist training. AFOT has been honored to provide support to Jampa Choling for the last several years. Head nun Tenzin Dechen regularly writes us and sends us photos.
Website: facebook.com/100064434709368
Nyerongsha Institute for Tibetan Medicine and Culture Orphanages throughout Tibet
Dr. Dickie Nyerongsha, a 7th- generation Tibetan medicine practitioner, supports several orphanages throughout Tibet. AFOT has been a longtime supporter of Dr. Nyerongsha’s work to bring basic shelter, food and medicine as well as both traditional and Western education to infants, young children and teens.
Website: clavan.net/otherprojects.html
Redna Nenling Nunnery
Dolanji, India
This nunnery in remote Dolanji, India is the only Bon nunnery in India and only one of a handful in the world. There are approximately 85 female nuns (“anis”) ranging in age from 4 to 50. Your donations help support the religious education and required school training for these dedicated women and girls. For the first time in the Bon tradition, nuns can now achieve the highest academic degree of Geshe.
Website: https://www.facebook.com/rednamenling.nunnery
2. SUPPORT FOR REFUGEES OF THE UKRANIAN WAR
Garchen Ratnashri
Kiev, Ukraine
When the Russian war on Ukraine started, Garchen Ratnashri Sangha immediately organized financial, logistical and medical help for those most affected. The Ukrainian-Canadian Lama Crane DaZang, a trained nurse, has been able to procure much-need medications from drug companies that sangha members then deliver to the front lines all over Ukraine. Sangha members are providing food and shelter for refugees coming to Kyiv from all over Ukraine. Our grant made it possible to obtain medication and to support those refugees in most need.
Website: https://ratnashri.org.ua/en/
Tara Mandala Poland Sangha
Warsaw, Poland
In addition to sangha members opening their homes to Ukrainian families including children and pets, the sangha contributed food, medicine and supplies to refugee centers in Warsaw and Krakow and assisted in transforming a guesthouse into a shelter for Ukrainian mothers and their special needs children. A full report of their many activities can be found at: https://www.taramandala.org/blog/ukraine-poland
3. PRESERVING AND PROMOTING TIBETAN TEACHINGS AND CULTURE
Jigme Llodro Rinpoche
Tibetan Dharma Translation Project
His Eminence Jigme Llodro Rinpoche is one of the preeminent teachers and translators of our time. His dedication to preserving and translating ancient Tibetan texts has provided a wealth of wisdom and knowledge to the world. Jigme Llodro is a frequent teacher in Tucson and we are honored to support his efforts.
tibetanbuddhistencyclopedia.com/en/index.php/Jigme_Lodro_Rinpoche
Library of Tibetan Works and Archives
Dharamsala, India
The Library of Tibetan Works and Archives was founded by His Holiness The Dalai Lama in 1970 to protect, preserve and promote Tibetan culture. Our grant provided funds for the printing and distribution of their new book Tibetan Journey to Democracy by Dr. Anna Alomes, with translation assistance by Mr. Jampa Dhadak.
Website: tibetanlibrary.org
Tibetan Center for Conflict Resolution
Dharamsala, India
Tibetan refugees frequently come to Dharamsala first because that is the seat of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Government of Tibet-in-Exile. The Center works with Tibetan refugees experiencing conflict in their communities, using the Buddhist principles of non-violence and compassionate activity. Center leaders and facilitators engage in grassroots action to resolve disputes in peaceful ways. Over the last 20 years they have led hundreds of workshops for parents, foster mothers, students, and young adults. TCCR facilitators also train peer mentors to work in their own communities. Our recent grant allowed TCCR to continue working to resolve conflicts in the vulnerable Dharamsala Tibetan refugee community as they arose, thus avoiding escalation.
Website: tccr.org/
If you know of a project that helps Tibetans directly, please contact us with the details at grants@afot.org. Arizona Friends of Tibet is affiliated with Tibet House US.