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· Public charity

Khyentse Foundation

KHYENTSE FOUNDATION is a nonprofit organization incorporated in the state of washington, usa, in november, 2001.

$6.7M
Granted FY2025still arriving
20
Grants FY2025still arriving
10
States reached
$699k
Largest
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Education$6.4MReligion$4.3MHealth$2.5MArts & Culture$2.4MInternational$1.0MRecreation & Sports$264kCrime & Legal$21kSocial Science$10kOther$0
02FY2025 · 20 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 20 grants below total $1,657,610, the rows itemized in this filing. The $6,719,669 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $5,062,059 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k2 grants · $17k
  • $10k–50k9 grants · $158k
  • $50k–250k8 grants · $784k
  • $250k+1 grant · $699k
$30,000
Median grant
10
States reached
$53M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
MIDDLE WAY SCHOOL$699,000
BUDDHIST DIGITAL RESOURCE CENTER (BDRC)$220,928
HEAD OF THE TIBETAN NYINGMA MEDITATION CENTER (SARNATH INTERNATIONAL NYINGM$115,595
RANGJUNG YESHE INSTITUTE FOUNDATION INC$107,616
MIDDLE WAY EDUCATION$95,000
YALE UNIVERSITY$94,807
LIGHT OF BUDDHADARMA FOUNDATION INTL$50,000
THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SPONSORED PROJECTS FINANCE (SPF)$50,000
NAROPA UNIVERSITY$50,000
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON$30,000
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY$25,000
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA FOUNDATION$25,000
KHYENTSE VISION PROJECT$16,774
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI - KANSAS CITY$14,444
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY$13,950
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 13%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 74% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%ASIAN CLASSICS INPUT PROJECT (ACIP): $389k → 14%BUDDHIST DIGITAL RESOURCE CENTER (BDRC): $517k → 8%RANGJUNG YESHE INSTITUTE FOUNDATION INC: $108k → 12%LIGHT OF BUDDHARMA FOUNDATION INTL: $68k → 10%UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: $2.5M → 14%YALE UNIVERSITY: $95k → 12%NAROPA UNIVERSITY: $70k → 12%ASIAN CLASSICS INPUT PROJECT (ACIP): $264k → 14%BUDDHIST DIGITAL RESOURCE CENTER (BDRC): $466k → 8%RANGJUNG YESHE INSTITUTE FOUNDATION INC: $94k → 12%LIGHT OF BUDDHARMA FOUNDATION INTL: $68k → 10%BUDDHIST DIGITAL RESOURCE CENTER (BDRC): $350k → 8%MIDDLE WAY SCHOOL: $496k → 16%BUDDHIST DIGITAL RESOURCE CENTER (BDRC): $350k → 8%MIDDLE WAY SCHOOL: $739k → 16%AMERICAN FRIENDS OF THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY: $1.0M → 17%THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA: $71k → 15%BUDDHIST DIGITAL RESOURCE CENTER (BDRC): $300k → 8%MIDDLE WAY EDUCATION: $230k → 16%Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC): $295k → 8%HEAD OF THE TIBETAN NYINGMA MEDITATION CENTER (DHARMA COLLEGE): $144k → 10%MIDDLE WAY SCHOOL: $700k → 16%BUDDHIST DIGITAL RESOURCE CENTER (BDRC): $295k → 8%HEAD OF THE TIBETAN NYINGMA MEDITATION CENTER (SARNATH INTERNATIONAL NYINGM: $116k → 10%MIDDLE WAY EDUCATION: $230k → 16%BUDDHIST DIGITAL RESOURCE CENTER (BDRC): $295k → 8%HEAD OF THE TIBETAN NYINGMA MEDITATION CENTER (SARNATH INTERNATIONAL NYINGM: $90k → 10%MIDDLE WAY SCHOOL: $699k → 16%BUDDHIST DIGITAL RESOURCE CENTER (BDRC): $241k → 8%HEAD OF THE TIBETAN NYINGMA MEDITATION CENTER (SARNATH INTERNATIONAL NYINGM: $90k → 10%MIDDLE WAY EDUCATION: $150k → 16%BUDDHIST DIGITAL RESOURCE CENTER (BDRC): $221k → 8%HEAD OF THE TIBETAN NYINGMA MEDITATION CENTER (SARNATH INTERNATIONAL NYINGM: $90k → 10%MIDDLE WAY SCHOOL: $360k → 16%84000: $300k → 12%BUDDHIST DIGITAL RESOURCE CENTER (BDRC): $169k → 8%HEAD OF THE TIBETAN NYINGMA MEDITATION CENTER (LIGHT OF BUDDHADARMA FOUNDAT: $68k → 10%MIDDLE WAY EDUCATION: $139k → 16%BUDDHIST DIGITAL RESOURCE CENTER (BDRC): $162k → 8%MIDDLE WAY SCHOOL: $347k → 16%BUDDHIST DIGITAL RESOURCE CENTER (BDRC): $150k → 8%MIDDLE WAY EDUCATION: $95k → 16%BUDDHIST DIGITAL RESOURCE CENTER (BDRC): $140k → 8%MIDDLE WAY SCHOOL: $322k → 16%BUDDHIST DIGITAL RESOURCE CENTER (BDRC): $84k → 8%MIDDLE WAY EDUCATION: $80k → 16%MIDDLE WAY SCHOOL: $318k → 16%MIDDLE WAY SCHOOL: $89k → 16%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

WA
IL
MI
NY
MA
PA
CT
CA
CO
MO
VA
MD
AZ
NC
LA
GA
TX
FL

Grants abroad, by region: $3.2M on the FY2025 return

Schedule F, as filed: 4 regions. The IRS asks for region and purpose, not the recipient, so no country or grantee can be named here.

East Asia and the Pacific$1.9M · 57% · 16 grants

Stated purpose: THAILAND - KHYENTSE FOUNDATION 9-14 NOV 2025 EDUCATION CONFERENCE 50% DEPOSIT · AUSTRALIA - GRANT TO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DZONGSAR ZHONUI TEWA WEEKEND LEARNING CENTRE · THAILAND - FRAGILE PALM LEAVES FOUNDATION

South Asia$802k · 25% · 9 grants

Stated purpose: INDIA - 2024/25 DKCLI GRANT · INDIA - 2024/25 KANISHKA SCHOOL GRANT · INDIA - KUMARAJIVA PROJECT 2024-2025

Europe (including Iceland and Greenland)$425k · 13% · 10 grants

Stated purpose: PORTUGAL - PADMAKARA TRANSLATION GROUP | PORTUGUESE LANGUAGE | BRAZIL AND PORTUGAL · HUNGARY - DEVELOPMENT OF BUDDHIST STUDIES IN HUNGARY AND THE HUNGARIAN TRIPITAKA PROJECT · GERMANY - DOCTORAL SUPPORT PROGRAM AT THE KHYENTSE CENTER FOR CONTEMPLATIVE TRADITIONS, YEAR 1 OF 4

North America (Canada and Mexico)$155k · 5% · 5 grants

Stated purpose: CANADA - AI BUDDHIST TRANSLATION PILOT PROJECT GRANT. · CANADA - HALF FEE FOR PLANNING KF EDUCATIONAL GATHERING AT TBD LOCATION/DATE · CANADA - GRANT TO SUPPORT DUDJOM GONG TER TRANSMISSION IN JULY

How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving. Grants abroad on Schedule F are filed by region, purpose and amount with no recipient name, so they are shown by region and cannot be placed on the country map or matched to a grantee.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 17% of Khyentse Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 8% of the giving stays in CA; by stated purpose, 6%.

Khyentse Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address · 22% directed abroad (not shown)
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

90%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$15M · 24 repeat orgs$1.7M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +39% since the first grant, against +7% for those funded once.

24 repeat relationships: 13 still active in FY2025, 11 since wound down; 3 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

24
23

Total granted

$15M
$1.6M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+39%
+7%

Still filing today

54%
48%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 98% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $37k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EducationReligionInternationalArts & CultureRecreation & SportsHealthOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • MW
    Middle Way School
    7× · 2018–2025 · $4.1M · revenue +377% · 96% of their budget
  • MW
    MIDDLE WAY EDUCATION
    7× · 2018–2025 · $1.0M · revenue ×2,689 · 100% of their budget
  • Northwestern University
    8× · 2017–2025 · $310k · revenue +41%

Funded once

  • AF
    AMERICAN FRIENDS OF HEBREW UNIVERSITY INC
    one grant, 2021 · $1.0M · revenue -12%
  • 8
    84000graduated
    one grant, 2018 · $300k · revenue +26%
  • RY
    RANGJUNG YESHE GOMDE CALIFORNIA
    one grant, 2020 · $47k
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
International Buddhist Education Foundation
Education
2
The Institute of Buddha Dhamma Studies a Non Profit Corporation
Philanthropy
3
Yunguang Chan Center

Religious culture and education, meditation and religions comparative study

Education
4
United Buddhist Foundation

1. Our website is continually updated with modern technology and provides tools to support Buddhist study and research. All of our sutra translations are freely accessible to anyone with an internet connection. 2. The Buddhist books for…

Religion
5
Science for Monks
Science & Tech
6
University of Spiritual Research
Religion
7
Nyingma Institute

The nyingma institute was founded in 1972 by tibetan teacher and author tarthang tulku to present the teachings of the tibetan tradition to the west. (see schedule o for full statement)

Religion
8
Samye

Our aspiration is to offer tools and training to enable practitioners of all levels to practice authentically and confidently. Buddhist practitioners, both newer and long-term students, will find resources here to support their study,…

Religion
9
Maharishi University of Enlightenment

To provide consciousness - based educational programs including post secondary educational programs.

Religion
10
Uma Institute for Tibetan Studies

Primary exempt purpose is 1) translation into English (and possibly other languages) of texts from Tibetan Buddhist traditions, 2) seminars, classes, and retreats on focal topics of Tibetan Buddhism and instruction in the literary and…

Religion
11
University of the West

To provide a "whole person" education in a context informed by buddhist wisdom and values, and to facilitate cultural understanding and appreciation between east and west.

Education
12
Ananda College of Living Wisdom

A postsecondary educational institution and residential retreat facility, with an approach to higher education that integrates academics, values, ethics, and philosophy, wtih experience, and draws from the wisdom traditions of the world.

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Buddhist Digital Resource Center Inc; the most unlike its peers is William Marsh Rice University. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

29 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 29 of the 53 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

5
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
7
Early backer (in before they grew)
27/29
Grantees still filing
19/29
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: $2,510,000 · OtherREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGANBUDDHIST DIGITAL RESOURCE CENTER (BDRC): $2,330,756 · OtherBUDDHIST DIGITAL RESOURCE CENTER (BDRC)THE HEAD LAMA OF THE TIBETAN NYINGMAPA MEDITATION CENTER: $814,962 · OtherTHE HEAD LAMA OF THE TIBETAN NYINGMAPA MEDITAT…LIGHT OF BUDDHADHARMA FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL: $342,000 · Other+23 more: $933,510 · Other+23 moreMiddle Way School: $4,069,728 · EducationMiddle Way SchoolMIDDLE WAY EDUCATION: $1,023,553 · EducationMIDDLE WAY EDUCATION+9 more: $634,337 · Education+9 moreBUDDHIST DIGITAL RESOURCE CENTER INC: $1,703,923 · ReligionBUDDHIST DIGITAL RE…THE ASIAN CLASSICS INPUT PROJECT INC: $670,823 · ReligionTHE ASIAN CLASSICS …84000: $300,000 · Religion84000KHMER-BUDDHIST EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROJECT (KEAP): $117,558 · Religion+3 more: $70,428 · ReligionAMERICAN FRIENDS OF HEBREW UNIVERSITY INC: $1,000,000 · International+2 more: $20,100 · InternationalNorthwestern University: $309,854 · Recreation & SportsHIMALAYAN ART RESOURCES INC: $30,000 · Arts & CultureLotus Treasure: $15,500 · Arts & CultureSAMADHI CENTER INC: $10,000 · HealthUPAYA ORGANIZATION FOR CONTEMPLATIVE ACTIVITIES: $6,500 · Social Science
Other$6,931,228Education$5,727,618Religion$2,862,732International$1,020,100Recreation & Sports$309,854Arts & Culture$45,500Health$10,000Social Science$6,500

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetMiddle Way School: $4,069,728 over 7y, 96% of budgetBUDDHIST DIGITAL RESOURCE CENTER INC: $1,703,923 over 4y, 33% of budgetMIDDLE WAY EDUCATION: $1,023,553 over 7y, 100% of budgetAMERICAN FRIENDS OF HEBREW UNIVERSITY INC: $1,000,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetTHE ASIAN CLASSICS INPUT PROJECT INC: $670,823 over 3y, 25% of budgetNorthwestern University: $309,854 over 8y, 0.0% of budget84000: $300,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetRANGJUNG YESHE INSTITUTE FOUNDATION INC: $201,516 over 2y, 10.0% of budgetYale University: $186,487 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetNaropa University: $150,054 over 4y, 0.2% of budgetWilliam Marsh Rice University: $136,870 over 6y, 0.0% of budgetKHMER-BUDDHIST EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROJECT (KEAP): $117,558 over 3y, 37% of budgetUniversity of Arizona Foundation: $100,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $63,480 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetKHYENTSE FOUNDATION: $38,322 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetHIMALAYAN ART RESOURCES INC: $30,000 over 2y, 13% of budgetDHARMA GATES INC: $30,000 over 2y, 9.5% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDUKE UNIVERSITY: $22,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetDHARMAKAYA CENTER FOR WELLBEING INC: $21,000 over 1y, 5.8% of budgetTOOLS FOR PEACE: $20,000 over 1y, 40% of budgetLotus Treasure: $15,500 over 1y, 24% of budgetThe American Himalayan Foundation: $15,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetYongey Foundation: $11,106 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetAmerican Academy of Religion Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetSAMADHI CENTER INC: $10,000 over 1y, 6.0% of budgetUPAYA ORGANIZATION FOR CONTEMPLATIVE ACTIVITIES: $6,500 over 1y, 4.2% of budgetTERMA FOUNDATION: $5,100 over 1y, 4.8% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

  • Who funds Middle Way School ↗
  • Who funds BUDDHIST DIGITAL RESOURCE CENTER INC ↗
  • Who funds MIDDLE WAY EDUCATION ↗
  • Who funds AMERICAN FRIENDS OF HEBREW UNIVERSITY INC ↗
  • Who funds THE ASIAN CLASSICS INPUT PROJECT INC ↗
  • Who funds Northwestern University ↗
  • Who funds 84000 ↗
  • Who funds RANGJUNG YESHE INSTITUTE FOUNDATION INC ↗
  • Who funds Yale University ↗
  • Who funds Naropa University ↗
  • Who funds William Marsh Rice University ↗
  • Who funds KHMER-BUDDHIST EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROJECT (KEAP) ↗
  • Who funds University of Arizona Foundation ↗
  • Who funds TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ↗
  • Who funds THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK ↗
  • Who funds KHYENTSE FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds HIMALAYAN ART RESOURCES INC ↗
  • Who funds DHARMA GATES INC ↗
  • Who funds UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION ↗
  • Who funds DUKE UNIVERSITY ↗
  • Who funds DHARMAKAYA CENTER FOR WELLBEING INC ↗
  • Who funds TOOLS FOR PEACE ↗
  • Who funds Lotus Treasure ↗
  • Who funds The American Himalayan Foundation ↗

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

The Frederick P Lenz Foundation for American BuddhismCA13.5× affinity4 shared granteesties to 7 of 7Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Frederick P Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism · Network for Good · National Philanthropic Trust · Paypal Charitable Giving Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Amazonsmile Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Khyentse Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Khyentse Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 12%
  • Yale University: 12% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
5report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
05Through Plinth

Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

How do I get to Khyentse Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Khyentse Foundation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 53 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

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