By Ven. Connie Miller

What is the FPMT Education Fund?

The FPMT Education Fund supports talented and creative work of exceptional merit that promotes the goals and long-term vision of FPMT education. This is the “mission statement” of the FPMT’s Education Fund. Thanks to the incredible generosity of an FPMT benefactor, this $1.6 million grant-giving fund exists to do just as it says: support talented and creative work of exceptional merit in the field of education within the FPMT.

How many years have we been saying, “Education is our main activity, education is what we do”? Now, we are beginning to have the financial means to better support our primary function: educating sentient beings in the wealth that is the Dharma.

Who manages it?

The FPMT Education Fund is managed by a committee that is, for the time being, connected with International Office: Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Harvey Horrocks, Sharon Gross, Petra McWilliams, Tubten Pende, Ven. Connie Miller and Ven. Roger Kunsang. This committee has developed a basic set of guidelines for the functioning of the fund.

What funds are available?

At its very first meeting the committee decided that each year it will utilize only the interest earned on the $1.6 million fund, and not touch the principal. If, for example, the fund earns 8% interest in a given year, then there would be $128,000 available to use for that year. Only under the most extraordinary circumstances will the committee even consider the possibility of using part of the principal – and for that to happen, there will have to be the final approval of Lama Zopa Rinpoche and the FPMT Board of Directors.

How can I apply for funding?

The committee has two major meetings each year – northern hemisphere summer and winter – to consider grant applications. All applications for funds must be submitted to the committee by no later than December 15 and June 15 of each year. The committee then takes the next 6 to 8 weeks to evaluate all applications. All applicants will be notified of the committee’s decisions by February 15 and August 15 each year.

Although the committee hasn’t yet abided strictly by this schedule during its first two years or so of activity, as of 1999 all applications must follow these application guidelines. There is a standard application packet available – all those who are interested in applying for funding can request a packet from anyone in the FPMT International Office education department.

Each project applying for funds must have an advocate on the Education Fund committee as well as a project champion, or manager, who is overseeing the work of the project itself. The advocate should be a person from the committee who represents your project during the application process and while the project is in progress.

If you have a project and wish to apply for funding from this fund, you can ask anyone on the committee to be your advocate. Please consult with a committee member or members before you apply for funding – this will considerably help your chances of getting the funding you need.

Once a project receives funding, that project’s advocate will watch over and assist the project champion throughout the life of the project. At completion, the advocate will also help with the evaluation process to make sure that the original conditions set for the project by the fund committee have been met. This is very important, especially in the case of those who might wish to be funded again in the future.

What receives funding from the Education Fund?

The Education Fund committee has been fortunate in being able to grant funds to a variety of different FPMT educational projects. Whenever projects are being considered for funding, high priority is given to those projects that affect education throughout the whole organization rather than only at individual centers. A few of the projects that have received funds so far are:

• The Master’s Program, Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Pomaia, Italy
• The Basic Program guidelines development, Olga Planken, Holland
• Teacher training workshop in Europe, Claudia Wellnitz and Istituto Lama Tzong Khapa, Italy
• Basic Program pilot course, Chenrezig Institute, QL, Australia

The Education Fund committee has also granted financial aid to six students from four countries (France, USA, Canada, and Italy) participating in the Master’s Program in Italy.

The key to understanding if something will receive favorable consideration for funding from the Education Fund is whether that project, or individual, will be able to benefit education in the whole Foundation in the future.

In the case of financial aid for individuals, the Fund committee looks at a person’s commitment to making a long-term contribution to education in the FPMT – as a teacher or spiritual program coordinator, a translator or ritual master. In the case of projects, again, the committee considers most favorably projects that further the broader long-term goals of education in the whole Foundation.

Those FPMT members who have been around for a number of years will remember Lama Yeshe often talking about “Big mind, dear,” and “Big love.” The FPMT Education Fund is one more way that we are trying to practice Lama’s Big Mind with Big Love in the FPMT.