The Foundation for Purposeful Living
An Innovative, Grassroots Philanthropic Giving Program

The Grants Program

An all-volunteer service organization in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, known for its innovative approaches to addressing social needs, has inaugurated an innovative grassroots philanthropic giving program. This charitable organization has for years been addressing a variety of needs within its own community, and celebrated its twentieth year of hands-on service in 2006 by establishing the Foundation for Purposeful Living with an initial endowment of $1 million.  There is more about our history in another section of this web site.

The Foundation for Purposeful Living will offer aid to creative and bold acts of goodwill and group-based, volunteer-driven endeavors that energize personal and planetary transformation. Its mission is to stimulate and encourage endeavors that contribute to the expansion of human consciousness; the proactive, creative and practical expression of goodwill among all peoples; and the manifestation of human goodness. As much as 5 percent of its endowment will be distributed as grants each year.  All grant requests will be reviewed by the Foundation’s volunteer staff and evaluated according to criteria established by the board of directors. Grants are expected to be in the $1,000 to $5,000 range. Find out more about how to apply on the application page. 

An Example of the Work FPL Is Supporting

Kitezh Children’s Community is a non-government, non-profit Partnership of Foster Families who offer homes and education for orphaned Russian children in a rural area 300 km south of Moscow in the Kaluga region. Despite harsh economic conditions, this dedicated group has built a thriving rural working community that provides an education and a home with foster families for orphaned Russian children from extreme social situations. The Foundation for Purposeful Living is one of many supporters of the Kitezh community as they work to build houses for new families, then expand the school, the church, a community center, dining hall and other educational facilities. Read the full article with photos

Reversing the Flow Award (RTF)

“Reversing the Flow” represents a fundamental shift in the way we view our lives and choose our attitude in any moment.  RTF is about consciously choosing to change our perspective and actions from “me” to “we,” from negativity to joy, from taking to giving, from being a victim of circumstances to taking responsibility for our lives, from selfishness to selflessness, or simply from self-centeredness towards service to others.  Through their commitment, selfless sacrifice for the greater good, and dedication to ageless humanitarian values, these global citizens, groups, and organizations are transforming the future. The Foundation for Purposeful Living’s Reversing the Flow Award a way of recognizing these efforts, supporting this kind of work, and inspiring others to follow in their footsteps.  The purpose of this award is to support courageous endeavors of those who are making the world a better place, and to recognize exemplary achievement by those working for the common good of humanity. 

An Opportunity to Help Pay it Forward

Human Service Alliance also regards the Foundation as a gentle but clear invitation to other donors to help support the Foundation and its mission by building on this gift and growing the Foundation’s endowment through personal contributions. The organization itself will not stop with this initial gift, but will continue to increase the endowment by annual contributions from its experiential learning laboratory, California Fresh Catering. This popular catering service will be providing annual donations to the Foundation to assure that its endowment continues to grow.

Quote for the Month

The following is a note from a former Center for Purposeful Living student who is a FPL grant recipient currently working in Zimbabwe. He was invited to return to CPL for a time and has since decided to stay in Zimbabwe to help in any way he can during difficult times.

Dear CPL:

Greetings, and indeed ’tis joyful to receive yours. I want to thank you for the positive thoughts and thus the positive energy that came with your message. Yes, we are in a very interesting situation. I am once again humbled by your concerns and best thoughts for me. I was thinking about coming [to CPL] for extra equipping some weeks ago but would like to be very responsible and thoughtful when I make the decision so that the path cannot be tainted by people who would feel let down at a time they needed my services. I realize it is hard for them to see that it is not me but they who hold the keys to their breakthrough. It took CPL for me to know and practice that.

Thank you for the invitation to return. It does bring joy and hope to a life of uncertainty. Do pass my kind regards to all and my joyful appreciation to [the faculty] for continuing on the path to guide me even from as far as Africa south of the Sahara.

Love & Light
Lamiel

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