Tara Mandala offers two scholarship funds to support Sangha members who need financial assistance on their path. During COVID, requests for financial aid have tripled; and so far in 2021, we have awarded more scholarships than any prior year and increased the average award amount. We’d like to share some information about our two scholarship funds, so that you may consider making a donation to replenish the funds that have been given to your Sangha brothers and sisters during this time of economic hardship.
The Evada Scholarship Fund awards scholarships for general financial assistance. The fund was named by benefactor Lynn Hays and her daughter Tessa in 1995 in honor of Tessa’s friend Evada Lustica who died in an auto accident just before her 13th birthday. Evada had become interested in Tibetan Buddhism, and she and Tessa had both created shrines in their rooms. Lynn and Tessa’s aspiration was that the Evada Scholarship Fund would create an important portal for others to come into the Dharma world, so they gave a seed grant for the fund, which has since benefitted hundreds of people and they continued to fund it for a while and then others have helped tremendously over the years.
The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Scholarship Fund awards scholarships to Black, Brown, and Indigenous people of color and/or those who are underrepresented due to their gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or socio-economic situation. The EDI Fund was established in 2015 as part of a multi-faceted cultural literacy program, led by Lopön Karla Jackson-Brewer and Dorje Lopön Chandra Easton, to address issues of underrepresentation of people from different cultural, racial, sexual orientation, and social backgrounds at Tara Mandala.
Evada Fund: This year through June 30th, we have offered 161 scholarships compared to the 146 scholarships we offered in total in 2020. The average scholarship amount offered so far this year is $165, slightly up from last year.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Fund: We offered 20 scholarships from the EDI Fund with an average award of $276 through June 30, 2021. In 2020, we gave out 29 scholarships with an average award of $207.
As of August 1st, we have given out all of the Evada Fund revenue. With your generous donation, we can continue to provide much needed assistance. Please consider supporting our scholarship funds by making a one time or ongoing monthly donation here:
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Access Pricing Plan for Increased Accessibility
In 2022, we will be announcing a new “Access” rate for all our programs, which is much lower than our actual ‘breakeven’ cost. The goal of this program is make our programs more affordable overall, provide a reduced price that is more accessible for potential participants, and attract a wider audience from around the world.
The Access Pricing Program will include three rate tiers:
2nd level = our breakeven price
3rd level = higher than breakeven rate, and includes longer access to recordings
Those that have capacity to pay at levels 2 and 3 can help support those who need the lower access rate to attend programs. We appreciate the generosity of those that choose the two higher rates. The goal overall is to make our programs more affordable and reach more individuals. This program will be announced later this fall in more detail along with the 2022 retreat season.
With Gratitude,
Tara Mandala
Photo Credits: Header (Bodhi Stroupe), Dakini Store (Deborah Howe), Practitioner (Laurie Pearce Bauer)
