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FPMT Endowments
Preserving the Buddhadharma for Future Generations
Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche dedicated their lives to making the Dharma available to anyone who wished to learn. The FPMT Endowment Funds exist so that this work doesn’t depend on any single year’s donations, and can continue for generations to come.
The FPMT exists to help others and the FPMT exists to help you, providing education to all through books and teachers, showing you and others how to benefit sentient beings and attain enlightenment.
— Lama Zopa Rinpoche, January 2017
Lama Zopa Rinpoche and Lama Yeshe sitting on Kopan hill. Photo by Ina Van Delden, courtesy of LYWA.
FPMT’s core mission is to provide resources for the study, practice, and realization of the Buddha’s teachings, enabling the Dharma to flourish and benefit sentient beings. Through our International Office, a global network of more than 130 centers, projects, services, and study groups, and our Charitable Projects, FPMT supports Dharma education, practice, and the preservation of the Mahayana lineage, as well as charitable activities that bring practical help to those in need.
Long-Term Sustainability
For more than fifty years, FPMT has grown through the generosity of students whose lives were changed by the Dharma and the example of Lama Yeshe (1935–1984) and Lama Zopa Rinpoche (1945–2023). Rinpoche entrusted the FPMT Board of Directors with carrying his Vast Vision forward.
An endowment is one of the most lasting ways to support that vision. Your gift is carefully invested so it can grow, and the income it earns supports FPMT every year and that steady base lets FPMT plan ahead with confidence.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche with the January–February 1997 issue of Mandala, San Francisco, California, USA, January 1997. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
How the Endowments Work
FPMT currently has two endowment funds for which we are actively raising contributions, with the goal of growing both funds over time.
The FPMT Preservation Endowment Fund helps ensure that the precious Mahayana teachings continue to benefit beings long into the future.
Your gift is invested and preserved, and the income it earns goes wherever FPMT needs it most. Because the fund is unrestricted, the Board can respond to new needs as they arise.
You can also choose to make your gift a quasi-endowment contribution. It’s invested the same way, but in times of special need the Board may draw on the gift itself, not only its earnings.
The Lama Zopa Rinpoche Social Services Endowment Fund carries forward Rinpoche’s deep compassion for all. It provides lasting support for FPMT’s social services grants, which help communities in need across India, Nepal, and Mongolia. These grants care for elders, provide healthcare and other essential services, and give children the chance to learn through support for schools.
Gifts to this fund are permanently endowed. Each year, the income they earn goes to FPMT’s Social Services, so your gift keeps caring for those most in need.
You can also support the FPMT Endowments through gifts of stocks and bonds, life insurance proceeds, real estate, and other assets. These gifts may offer tax benefits for eligible U.S. donors. You can read more about these options on our Planned Giving page.
How the Endowments Are Governed
The FPMT Endowments are overseen by FPMT’s Board of Directors and an appointed Endowment Committee. Investments are managed to meet two primary objectives:
- Generate sufficient returns to support the programs and activities the endowments were established to fund.
- Achieve real growth in the value of the endowment to meet future needs, while preserving principal.
Rejoicing in Our Collective Generosity
Lama Zopa Rinpoche leading an extensive flower offering practice in this garden, London, UK, July 2014. Photo by Ven. Roger Kunsang.
I am offering a billion, zillion, trillion, numberless skies of thanks from the bottom of my heart to you for everything—what you are doing with your body, speech and mind, as well as your Dharma practice. You are making the whole FPMT like the sun shining in the world.
— Lama Zopa Rinpoche, July 2017
Everything FPMT does rests on the kindness of our teachers, the dedication of our students and friends, and the generosity of donors around the world. We rejoice in all we’ve accomplished together, and in the merit of every gift that helps the Dharma continue.
Questions About Giving?
Whether you’re considering a gift to an FPMT Endowment or exploring ways to support FPMT’s mission for generations to come, we’re happy to help.
For more information about the FPMT Endowments or for any assistance, please contact FPMT Donor Services.
Thank you for being part of this compassionate work.