Gliding with the Changes and Managing Long-Term Sustainability
I thank the volunteers, executives, and sponsors—all of you. You have put so much dedication into this Khyentse Foundation endeavor, and for this I am very, very grateful. On behalf of all sentient beings, I hope you continue to dedicate your time, energy, and ideas.
Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche
“We talk about not having the courage to get out of the zone, get out of the box. Every time we feel that we are sort of out of the box, we realize that we are really still in the old box. We may have been out of the 1980s box during the 2000s, but now it’s 2023. We should also be out of that box.”
Rinpoche urges Khyentse Foundation to glide with the rapid changes occurring in the world and to bravely step into an unknown future in our efforts to share the Buddha’s wisdom. Read excerpts from Rinpoche’s address at the KF Annual Board Meeting in our 2022 Annual Report.
Priority Activities
The Annual Report provides a glimpse into the foundation’s wide range of programs during the past year. Read about our priority activities, such as education for children, teacher and translator training, reaching beyond academics in our university projects, and many more.
Financial Challenges
In the previous 20 years, KF was always able to balance expenditures and income and to maintain a healthy surplus on an annual basis. We were therefore able to build up substantial assets over the years.
In her message, Executive Director Cangioli Che notes that 2022 is the first time that KF’s expenditures exceeded income, and the foundation was obliged to tap into its reserved assets. This was not unexpected, however, because we had expanded our activities and made significant investments in endowed chairs, supported more schools for children, embarked on two more large-scale translation projects (after the successful incubation of 84000), sponsored outreach initiatives, and so on. The foundation’s reserve funds are intended precisely so that in times of reduced donations and economic setbacks we can maintain our activities without major disruption to our priority projects.
Looking forward, one of our major challenges is to manage revenue fluctuations with a more controlled budget for program expenditures. Please see our financial summary and read our investment committee report in the 2022 Annual Report.