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Pema Chodron Foundation at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Pema Chodron Foundation

Support and encouragement of Buddhist monasticism and the Buddhist tradition world-wide, and to manifest the Buddhist vision by providing support and assistance to community-based organizations that serve marginalized populations such as distressed families (especially children and teens), abused individuals, the incarcerated, and drug…

$1.7M
Granted FY2024still arriving
21
Grants FY2024still arriving
9
States reached
$300k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2018 to 2024.

Religion$3.4MPublic Safety & Disaster$606kYouth Development$320kCommunity Improvement$208kInternational$107kEducation$90kArts & Culture$80kCrime & Legal$60kOther$0
02FY2024 · 21 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 21 grants below total $1,059,431, the rows itemized in this filing. The $1,674,285 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $614,854 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 · FY2024

  • $10k–50k15 grants · $274k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $485k
  • $250k+1 grant · $300k
$20,000
Median grant
9
States reached
$6.3M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
Drala Mountain Center$300,000
Mangala Shri Bhuti$200,000
Tsoknyi Nuns$110,000
Drala Mountain Center$75,392
Sravasti Abbey$50,000
Home Boy Industries$50,000
Konchok Foundation$49,629
Malezi School$36,100
Naropa Univ - CT Legacy Fdn$25,000
Tergar Institute$20,000
Tibetan Nuns Project$20,000
Berkana Institute$20,000
Marpa Foundation Endowment$15,686
Dorje Khyung Dzong RetreatCtr$15,000
Himalayan Childrens Fund$12,624
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:

Its human-services grants (FY20–23, $25k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 70% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%House with Heart: $10k → 14%Manjushree School LTP Fdn: $8k → 6%House with Heart: $8k → 14%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

ME
VT
WA
IL
WI
NY
MA
CA
UT
CO
FL

Grants abroad, by region: $482k on the FY2024 return

Schedule F, as filed: 3 regions, $468k to organizations and $14k to individuals. The IRS asks for region and purpose, not the recipient, so no country or grantee can be named here.

North America (Canada and Mexico)$370k · 77% · 2 grants · 2 people

Stated purpose: Archive & transltn · Monastic & educatnl · Scholarships

South Asia$107k · 22% · 1 grant · 1 person

Stated purpose: Monastic & educ · Scholarship

Europe (including Iceland and Greenland)$6k · 1% · 2 people

Stated purpose: Scholarships

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 20% of Pema Chodron Foundation’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address. By recipient address, 74% of the giving stays in CO; by stated purpose, 58%.

Pema Chodron Foundationlessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address
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.

94%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$4.7M · 22 repeat orgs$281k to everyone else

22 repeat relationships: 16 still active in FY2024, 6 since wound down; 4 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

22
8

Total granted

$4.7M
$181k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+42%
+173%

Still filing today

68%
50%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 91% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $100k went to new ones.

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

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

’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
ReligionInternationalArts & CultureEducationHuman ServicesCommunity ImprovementOther
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

  • DM
    DRALA MOUNTAIN CENTER Formerly Shambhala Mountain Center
    5× · 2020–2024 · $1.4M · revenue +49%
  • HOMEBOY INDUSTRIES
    6× · 2019–2024 · $310k · revenue +160%
  • NU
    Naropa University
    7× · 2018–2024 · $180k · revenue +30%

Funded once

  • SD
    SHEDRUB DEVELOPMENT FUND INC
    one grant, 2023 · $100k
  • CP
    CRESTONE PEAK COMMUNITY HOUSINGgraduated
    one grant, 2021 · $20k · revenue +598%
  • TM
    THE MIDDLE WAY INITIATIVE INC
    one grant, 2021 · $20k · revenue -47%
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
Dharma Refuge Inc

Buddhist Meditation and Study

Religion
3
The Institute of Buddha Dhamma Studies a Non Profit Corporation
Philanthropy
4
The Dharma Sanctuary
Religion
5
Tsadra Foundation
Philanthropy
6
Namgyal Monastery Dharma Center

The mission of Namgyal Monastery Dharma Center is to be a transformational hub of compassionate and human education for all.

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
Dechen Foundation

To advance the teachings of the Sakya and Karma Kagyu schools of Buddhism as embodied by His Holiness Sakya Trichin Ngawang Kunga Thegchin, His Holiness the Karmapa Thaye Dorje and the Fourth Karma Thinley Rinpoche, under the spiritual…

Religion
9
The Maitrii Project

To provide support and improve health and overall well-being of Buddhist monastics, especially in poor and distressed areas in Nepal and other Asian countries. Planned activities include securing food and medical services for monastics in…

Religion
10
The Treasury of Lives Inc

The Treasury of Lives is biographical encyclopedia of Tibet, Inner Asia and Himalayan Region. The Treasury provides an accessible and well-researched biography of a wide range of figures, from Buddhist masters to artists and political…

—
11
The Abhaya Fellowship

To facilitate the practice of the dharma or the path of awakening in the buddhist tradition, particularly within the dudjom tersar lineage of the nyingma school of tibetan buddhism

Religion
12
Dharma Drum Retreat Center Inc

The mission of Dharma Drum Retreat Center Inc is to promote the practice of Chinese Chan Buddhism in the western hemisphere. The teaching practiced and taught is based on the Dharma Drum Mountain Lineage developed by the founder Chan…

Religion
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Tergar Institute Inc; the most unlike its peers is The Frederick P Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism. 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

26 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

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 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 26 of the 34 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.

4
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
22/26
Grantees still filing
16/26
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

MANGALA SHRI BHUTI: $1,420,000 · OtherMANGALA SHRI BHUTINaropa University: $180,000 · OtherNaropa UniversityPUNDARIKA FOUNDATION: $160,000 · OtherPUNDARIKA FOUNDATIONJHAMTSE INTERNATIONAL INCORPORATED: $90,000 · Other+13 more: $285,500 · Other+13 moreDRALA MOUNTAIN CENTER Formerly Shambhala Mountain Center: $1,445,784 · ReligionDRALA MOUNTAIN CENTER Formerly Shambhala Mou…Konchok Foundation: $209,629 · ReligionKonchok FoundationSHEDRUB DEVELOPMENT FUND INC: $100,000 · ReligionPrison Dharma Network Inc: $70,000 · Religion+4 more: $130,547 · Religion+4 moreHOMEBOY INDUSTRIES: $310,000 · Youth DevelopmentMAHTABE INC: $188,350 · Community ImprovementTIBETAN NUNS PROJECT: $90,000 · InternationalFriends of Surmang Inc dba Surmang Foundation: $50,000 · InternationalHIMALAYAN CHILDRENS FUND: $43,224 · InternationalTreasure Caretaker Training: $80,000 · Arts & CultureCHRONICLES OF CHOGYAM TRUNGPA RINPOCHE: $60,000 · Arts & CultureBERKANA INSTITUTE: $20,000 · Arts & CultureLADIES EMPOWERMENT AND ACTION PROGRAM INC: $60,000 · Crime & Legal
Other$2,135,500Religion$1,955,960Youth Development$310,000Community Improvement$188,350International$183,224Arts & Culture$160,000Crime & Legal$60,000

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetDRALA MOUNTAIN CENTER Formerly Shambhala Mountain Center: $1,445,784 over 5y, 12% of budgetHOMEBOY INDUSTRIES: $310,000 over 6y, 0.4% of budgetKonchok Foundation: $209,629 over 4y, 69% of budgetMAHTABE INC: $188,350 over 5y, 62% of budgetNaropa University: $180,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetTIBETAN NUNS PROJECT: $90,000 over 5y, 1.5% of budgetTreasure Caretaker Training: $80,000 over 5y, 84% of budgetPrison Dharma Network Inc: $70,000 over 7y, 1.5% of budgetCHRONICLES OF CHOGYAM TRUNGPA RINPOCHE: $60,000 over 2y, 29% of budgetLADIES EMPOWERMENT AND ACTION PROGRAM INC: $60,000 over 6y, 1.6% of budgetSAHALOKA MONASTIC COMMUNITY: $56,061 over 5y, 5.2% of budgetMARPA FOUNDATION FOR THE STUDY PRACTICE & SUPPORT OF BUDDHA DHARMA: $44,486 over 5y, 1.8% of budgetHIMALAYAN CHILDRENS FUND: $43,224 over 5y, 1.8% of budgetOMEGA INSTITUTE FOR HOLISTIC STUDIES INC: $40,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetTSOKNYI HUMANITARIAN FOUNDATION: $22,000 over 2y, 1.4% of budgetBERKANA INSTITUTE: $20,000 over 1y, 9.2% of budgetCRESTONE PEAK COMMUNITY HOUSING: $20,000 over 1y, 4.0% of budgetTERGAR INSTITUTE INC: $20,000 over 1y, 7.3% of budgetTHE MIDDLE WAY INITIATIVE INC: $20,000 over 1y, 20% of budgetCOVENANT HOUSE CALIFORNIA: $17,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE FREDERICK P LENZ FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN BUDDHISM: $10,000 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetTHE PROFOUND TREASURY DHARMA FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 5.0% of budgetI Grow Chicago NFP: $10,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetTHE LTP FOUNDATION INC: $7,500 over 1y, 2.6% 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.

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 Owsley Brown III …The Frederick P Lenz …Tess Evans Charitable…Timely RainBESS Family FoundationImpactassetsincBoston Foundation IncNational Philanthropi…Network for GoodVanguard Charitable E…American Endowment Fo…Donor Advised Charita…
The Owsley Brown III Philanthropic FoundKY21.9× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: The Owsley Brown III Philanthropic Found · The Frederick P Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism · Tess Evans Charitable Foundation · Timely Rain · BESS Family Foundation · Impactassetsinc · Boston Foundation Inc · National Philanthropic Trust · Network for Good · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · American Endowment Foundation · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc

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 Pema Chodron Foundation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Pema Chodron Foundation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%6%23%51%90%funder's share of their income ↑0%15%30%45%60%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    2get no government money at all
    2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–60%
    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 Pema Chodron Foundation?

    Find your warmest path to Pema Chodron 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 34 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Pema Chodron’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
    grants reported with no recipient in the public record
    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
    The DAF merry-go-round
    $9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home