There are two rounds, and the amount you ask for decides which one you join. Both work the same way: apply by the deadline, hear from us by the 15th, and start your retreat on the 1st of the following month or later.
Requests of $300 or less
Requests over $300, up to $2,000
Applications close at 11:59 pm US Pacific time on the date shown. A request of exactly $300 belongs to the monthly round.
Scholarships are for silent, teacher-led group retreats, and we pay the retreat center directly.
The chart below shows the rounds open now and the ones that follow, with the dates worked out from today.
Find the month your retreat begins, then read across to the size of your request. That is your last day to apply.
| Your retreat begins in | Asking $300 or less | Asking over $300, up to $2,000 |
|---|
Your retreat can begin on any day of its month, the 1st included. Applying earlier than the date shown is always fine.
All deadlines are 11:59 pm US Pacific time. Applying earlier is always fine. The application form checks the dates and will not accept a retreat that starts too soon.
Pick the size of your request to see the dates for an application sent today, and whose turn it is at each step.
You
Any day of the month. When you submit, the form tells you which round you are in and when you will hear.
Any day
The calendar
At the end of the month for requests of $300 or less; at the end of March, June, September and December for larger ones.
End of the month
Us
We read every application in the round and the board decides. If something is unclear, we may email you a question.
1st to 15th
Us
By email from info@opendharmafoundation.org, by the 15th. If it has not arrived, please check your spam folder. If we cannot fund you this time, you are welcome to apply again for a later retreat.
By the 15th
You
Reply to everyone on the award email within 10 days. That reply is how you accept. While you are there, book your short call for after the retreat.
Within 10 days
Us
Our treasurer arranges payment with you and the center, and pays the center directly. If your award includes travel, it is reimbursed against receipts.
Before you go
You
Your retreat can begin on the 1st of the month after the decision, or any time later.
From the 1st of the next month
You and us
A short call a few days after you return. You can also leave a message for the people whose gifts paid for your retreat.
A few days after
Fill out the application form. There are more detailed instructions in the application itself. You can save your drafted application and come back later to finish. It asks you to set out a budget for the money you are requesting. We also highly recommend getting letters of support from a teacher or retreat center to make an application more competitive. You can attach them on the last step.
ODF is a 501(c)(3) that gives scholarships for silent meditation retreats. We believe retreat can be transformative. We want it open to people who could not go without financial help.
Anyone in financial need who hopes to attend a silent meditation retreat. Applications are stronger when they show:
Retreats in any lineage or tradition, as long as they are mostly silent meditation practice led by a teacher. We do not fund retreats whose main focus is something else: study, yoga or movement, group discussion, socializing, or time in nature.
For most of the day, ideally all of it, you are not talking or using technology. We prioritize retreats with more formal practice each day. A little non-silence is fine: chanting, daily dharma talks, or a teacher-led group discussion (as opposed to open conversation).
You can apply once per round. If you have received a scholarship, you cannot receive another scholarship until one full year later, regardless of if it was monthly or quarterly. We do make some small exceptions for annual retreats that end up being slightly less than a year apart.
Yes. If travel, food or lodging would stop you attending, include them in your budget: a plane or train ticket, for example, or one hotel night before the retreat. Please keep costs as low as you can. We may ask you to revise your budget, or fund less than you asked for.
We fund only the costs without which you could not attend. We do not fund teacher dana, lost wages, rent, child care or pet care.
Each application is scored against a rubric, and the highest-scoring applicants are recommended to the board.
Our ideal applicant:
Donations are tax deductible and can be made here.
Our policies and procedures document is here.