Hidden Leaf provides grants to expand inner awareness within social change organizations in order to enhance the effectiveness of the progressive movement. Specifically, we provide grants to:

• Progressive social change organizations that are incorporating awareness practices into their operations in order to enhance their work towards their mission,
• Leadership development and training organizations that help progressive non-profits integrate awareness practices into their work,
• Field-building organizations that develop and deepen transformative social change work by conducting research, convening allies, mobilizing funders, and developing new models.

Hidden Leaf provides funds to groups across the progressive spectrum addressing issues such as racial equity, climate justice, immigrants’ rights, health care reform, workers’ rights, and reproductive justice. The awareness practices currently used by grant recipients include contemplative meditation, deep listening and other interpersonal communication tools, work that helps align values and actions, politicized somatics, personal ecology and improved wellness, and organizational sustainability practices.

In the present circumstances, no one can afford to assume that someone else will solve their problems. Every individual has a responsibility to help guide our global family in the right direction. Good wishes are not sufficient; we must become actively engaged.

— 
His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

We currently provide up to $2,000,000 in grants each year to about 35 organizations.

We do NOT fund the following:

• Frontline organizations that do not incorporate transformative practices into their operations, or do not utilize a transformative approach to social change.
• Leadership development or training organizations that train individual leaders outside the context of progressive social change organizations.
• Organizations that provide social services, as opposed to promoting systemic change.
• Organizations that do not have a 501(c)(3) tax-exemption (unless they have a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor).
• Organizations based entirely outside the U.S..
• Retreat centers.
• Individuals, even if their work is aligned with our mission.

Grantmaking Process

Given the specialized nature of our funding, we do not accept unsolicited proposals.