The Tibet Fund

With our firm belief that education is the most important step towards resilience and freedom, The Tibet Fund continues to play a key role in administering funds for innovative interventions, providing technical expertise, and finding evidence-based solutions to our unique challenges. We team with the Department of Education of the Central Tibetan Administration, the Snow Lion Foundation in Nepal, and civil society organizations to create the largest educational footprint in exile, serving more than 24,000 students in over 70 schools across India and Nepal. Our donors, including the U.S. Government and many organizations and individuals, have enabled us to expand the reach of early childhood care, improve the quality of education at Tibetan schools, broaden access to higher education and professional studies, and address core deficiencies in the Tibetan education system.

The Tibet Fund believes that Tibetan cultural heritage and national identity are the fabric that binds the Tibetan people together and lends an enduring momentum to our struggle for freedom and justice. In accordance with our core mission, The Tibet Fund supports diverse programs and institutions in exile that contribute to the preservation of traditional Tibetan culture and national identity. Events in North America are specifically targeted at Tibetan youth and serve as avenues by which to explore cultural expression, Tibetan history, and identity. These opportunities instill a deeper sense of ownership among the youth of their culture, tradition, language, and community.

The Tibet Fund is committed to providing Tibetan communities with access to affordable and quality healthcare. Working in partnership with the CTA Department of Health, Snow Lion Foundation, and grassroots health organizations, we help deliver essential medical services for the most vulnerable refugees, TB and Hepatitis B prevention and treatment, maternal and child healthcare, community health insurance, nutritional support, safe drinking water and sanitation, and preventive health education. With funding from the U.S. government and private donors, our initiatives have helped strengthen institutional and human resource capacities by providing Tibetan health workers and administrators with training, supplies, and new medical equipment. Working through a network of Tibetan hospitals, primary health care centers, and rural clinics, we deliver healthcare services to tens of thousands of Tibetans, including the most underserved and vulnerable groups among the Tibetan exile community.

We support economic and community-led development that strengthens the viability of Tibetan settlements and promotes self-reliance. Our projects improve the livelihoods of disadvantaged Tibetans through low-interest business loans, micro and small enterprise development, employable skills training, and agriculture development, while also empowering communities to address their own needs and priorities. Most of our livelihoods and community development assistance are undertaken in collaboration with the Central Tibetan Administration in India and Lodrik Welfare Fund in Nepal.

In our commitment to building stronger and more resilient Tibetan communities, The Tibet Fund continued to support Tibetan civil society organizations (CSOs) with the potential to make positive change. Established in 2017, the Tibetan Civil Society Empowerment Program provides small grants for CSO projects while building their capacity to increase their impact. Our CSO partners address critical community needs to be left unaddressed by large U.S. Government-funded programs, and their young Tibetan staff acquire nonprofit leadership skills and experience.

The Tibet Fund works with multiple partners to empower women and girls and protect them from sexual and gender-based violence. We support gender sensitization workshops, women’s leadership training, menstrual health and hygiene promotion, and capacity building of partner organization staff and grassroots leaders. In 2021 we supported a comprehensive subsistence support program for vulnerable women reeling under Covid-19 related setbacks to income and livelihood.

In 2021, The Tibet Fund raised $228,239 in sponsorship donations from private sources, supporting a total of 1005 individuals including 296 monks, 102 nuns, 468 school children, 48 disabled children, 65 elders, and six performing arts students.