Tibetan Nuns Project
Postcard from Dharamsala, India March 2011
Letters from Delek, Our Sponsored Nun
Who are they?
The Tibetan Nuns Project was established under the auspices of the Tibetan Women's Association and the Department of Religion and Culture of H. H. the Dalai Lama and is dedicated to educating and supporting nuns in India from all Tibetan Buddhist lineages.
The Tibetan Nuns Project is dedicated to:
- Improving standards of food, sanitation, medical care, and education in Tibetan nunneries
- Working towards future self-sufficiency through educational and training opportunities
- Training nuns to take leadership and service roles within their communities
- Improving the level and status of ordained Buddhist women
- Assisting recently arrived refugee nuns from Tibet
- Continuing to establish further facilities for Buddhist nuns
Through their sponsorship program, funded by sponsors from around the world, they currently support over 700 Tibetan nuns living in north India.
To learn more, click here.
FUNDING
The Project is primarily funded by generous donations from individuals and organizations. Institutional funding has come from the Heinrich Boell Foundation of Germany; the Norwegian Tibet Committee Women's Group and the Norwegian organizations Fokus and Norad; the Swedish foundation Soir-IM; the American Himalayan Foundation; Rigpa Foundation of London; the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Hershey Family Foundation, and the Betsy Gordon Foundation. Money is also produced by the nuns' numerous income-generating projects.
How to help
Make a donation - click here
We promise to use your donation wisely towards the greatest need. You may also designate your gift to a specific fund such as teachers' salaries, education programs, Jong Gonchoe (annual debate session), housing for elder nuns, retreat centre, and more.
Sponsor a Nun - click here
For less than $1 per day, you can provide the basic necessities to a nun. One hundred percent of sponsorship funds go directly to India to support the nuns.
Buy products - click here
The nuns take great pride in making products for sale through our web site as part of their income generating program. They hand make unique gifts such as nun and monk dolls, door hangings, prayer beads and bags, kataks (offering scarves), prayer flags, monk and shopping bags, cell phone holders, and more. If you are purchasing gifts for friends and family throughout the year, please consider a gift made with love by the nuns.
Volunteer - click here
There are a variety of opportunities in your local area, please click here to learn more.
Company Gift Matching
If you're interested in supporting our work and your employer provides employee matching gifts, your sponsorship contributions and donations could qualify. If so, we would be happy to help you fill out the paperwork or provide you with any information you need to summit to your company. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Planned Giving
Naming the Tibetan Nuns Project as a beneficiary in your will is a way to help support the next generation of Tibetan Buddhist nuns. You can make a bequest in your will, stating that either a specific asset, certain dollar amount or percentage of your estate will pass to us. For more information, please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Endowment - click here
With the gift to an endowment fund, you have the chance to build a strong foundation for Tibetan nuns living as refugees in northern India. A gift to an endowment is a permanent gift to the Tibetan Nuns Project. The principal is invested, to grow over time, while the annual income provides a reliable source of support to achieve the mission of supporting and educating Tibetan nuns living in exile. Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to ask for an endowment packet, or call the office at 206-652-8901- we will gladly discuss all of the endowment funding options.
Host a House Party
In the past, several supporters of the Tibetan Nuns Project have asked us for ways to spread the word about the Project and raise money. To be of assistance, we have put together a “house party kit,” designed to help you throw your own fundraising event. Included is everything you need to host a successful event: instructions, introductory DVD, a sample invitation letter, questions and answers, thank you letter, sign up sheets, and more. A product table can also be a part of your party – the Tibetan Nuns Project offers freedom bracelets, calendars, and prayer flags. If you have any questions or would like to receive a house party kit, please feel free to e-mail us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Wish List
We always do our best to keep expenses as low as humanly possible. To that end, we are almost always in need of help with "stuff" separate from dollars. If you have any of the items listed below and are willing and able to make an "in kind" donation, we would be grateful and will promise to utilize the gift to its utmost. Here is what we need right now.
- Stationery items - colored paper, binder paper, binders, paperclips, post it notes, etc.
- English language software (legal and licensed) for the nuns' computer lab at Dolma Ling Nunnery
- (Windows based - need 10 licenses total)
If you have any of these items and are willing to donate them to the Tibetan Nuns Project, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
A Portion of Purchases made at Sage Hills Retreat Center (some products 100%) go to supporting this organization that is very near and dear to our hearts.
Sat Nam
