The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Public Impact Grants in Buddhist Studies

Overview

The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Public Impact Grants in Buddhist Studies support projects that make Buddhist Studies scholarship publicly accessible and improve general knowledge about Buddhist topics, including but not limited to art, texts, history, and practice. Projects must:

prioritize public engagement or collaboration with specific Buddhist communities
meaningfully incorporate academic research on any aspect of Buddhist knowledge, culture, or traditions
result in a public program, resource, or experience that brings academic Buddhist Studies to broader communities, audiences, or practitioners

Applicants are encouraged to review Past Awardees and the Humanities for All website for creative ideas for publicly-engaged humanities projects.

Grant Details

Grant Amount: Minimum: $10,000; Maximum: $50,000.
- In addition to the requested grant amount, budgets may include indirect administrative costs totaling not more than 5% of the total grant amount.
Award Period: Up to 12 months, starting between August 1, 2027, and December 1, 2027.
Grant funds may be used as stipends for PIs, co-PIs, collaborators, and contributors, travel, convening costs, consultant services, staff training, or related office expenses. The grant may cover direct costs (e.g., office space, administrative assistance) associated with the outlined work plan.
Grant funds must be paid to an official fiduciary host institution (e.g., college, university, non-profit organization, community organization) of this grant. As the official fiduciary, the institution will receive the grant funds and legally manage them. At the time of application, a senior official at the institution must submit an institutional statement confirming support for the proposed project (see Application Requirements). Not more than 5% of the total grant amount will be used to cover the cost of administrating funds for the project.
Completed applications must be submitted through the ACLS Online Fellowship Administration system no later than 5:00 PM Eastern Time,  November 20, 2026.
Result notifications will be sent via email in late Spring 2027.
All eligible applicants will be able to request reviewer feedback in late Spring 2027.

Eligibility

Projects must be led by a Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-PI with:
- a PhD in the humanities or social sciences and expertise in Buddhist Studies. Established scholars without a PhD who can demonstrate equivalency in publications and professional experience may still qualify.
- an affiliation—a long-term regular research or teaching appointment—with an institution of higher education (college or university), cultural organization, or major research institute.
Work proposed must be in the humanities or social sciences and focus predominantly on Buddhist Studies. For the purpose of this competition, the field of Buddhist Studies is defined broadly to include, but is not limited to, disciplines such as history, philology, philosophy, anthropology, and religious studies. Projects may engage any Buddhist traditions and/or contemporary developments.
Application materials must include written support from the relevant community partners, cultural institutions, or community leaders named in the proposal.
The application must be written in English. There are no restrictions as to the language of the final product.
There are no restrictions as to the location of work proposed or the citizenship/residence of project team members.
While this project may be part of a larger community-engaged research project, the public engagement activity should be the focus of the proposal. Some research activities may still be in progress, but the scholarship itself should be substantially developed enough to share with a public audience at the time of application.
No academic publications or outcomes are eligible for support in this competition.

AI Guidelines

Applicants may use AI tools such as Claude or ChatGPT to write their application. However, it is the responsibility of the named applicant to ensure that all content in their proposal is factual and that they have properly acknowledged and referenced all sources. As the applicant, you are responsible for any errors, omissions, hallucinations, or acts of plagiarism in your application. We encourage you to indicate in your application where and how you used AI assistance for full transparency.

Evaluation Criteria

ACLS and The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Global believe that Buddhist Studies benefits from inclusivity of voices, narratives, and subjects from around the world. We encourage applications from all eligible scholars, and we value projects that demonstrate thoughtful engagement with communities and topics that have been historically underrepresented or under-studied in Buddhist Studies.

Peer reviewers are asked to take into consideration ACLS’s commitment to inclusive excellence, understood as the pursuit of academic excellence enriched by a plurality of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, and the broadening of humanistic inquiry to encompass a wide array of topics, methodologies, and communities.

Reviewers in this program are asked to evaluate all eligible proposals on the following criteria:

Significance of the topic and its potential to advance public understanding of Buddhist knowledge, culture, or traditions. Does the project engage meaningfully with academic Buddhist Studies research? How will the project bring that scholarship to broader communities, audiences, or practitioners in a substantive way?
Quality of the project with regard to its approach to public engagement, scope, grounding in the relevant scholarly literature, and, where applicable, collaboration with Buddhist communities or practitioners. Is the public-facing format (e.g., media, exhibition, program, resource) well-suited to the content and intended audience?
Feasibility of the project and work plan, given the proposed budget and the applicant’s (or team’s) background, experience, and access to the partners, platforms, or communities needed to carry out the project.

Application Requirements

Applications must be submitted online and must include the following uploaded documents, formatted in Arial or Helvetica 11-point font with at least 1-inch margins on all sides. The PI must submit a single application on behalf of a team.

Applications must include:

A completed application form that includes basic biographical information and short-answer questions about the project.
An uploaded proposal (no more than five pages, double-spaced, including any footnotes or endnotes) detailing project context and goals, work already undertaken, and resources needed to complete the project. The proposal must address the following points, using the italicized headings to label each section:
- Background and Context: a brief overview of the academic research that grounds the public-facing work. How will the project address a general misconception or advance public understanding? Explain how the project engages public audiences and, if applicable, centers the interests of Buddhist communities or practitioners.
- Activities: a brief explanation of what the project team plans to do during the grant period and why, as well as the means and tools to be used to execute the project. Include a brief outline of each key collaborator’s role and contributions to the activities and broader project.
- Result(s): anticipated outputs or planned deliverables at the grant conclusion (e.g., a new exhibition, a podcast, a digital archive).
- Audience and Impact: a summary of the primary public audience(s) and beneficiaries of the project. Explain how the project will engage them, noting any relevant collaborations or partnerships. Note the relevant metrics or indicators for measuring impact (e.g., attendance, downloads, community feedback).
An uploaded work plan (no more than one page, single-spaced) describing the project timeline, including work in progress/already completed, tasks and activities during the grant period, and any ongoing maintenance or follow-up afterward. All applicants must use the work plan template provided by ACLS.
An uploaded budget (no more than one page, single spaced) providing a detailed account of the proposed use of grant funds. Include any potential financial and non-financial resources (i.e., in-kind support, near-term partnerships on campus or off, etc.) that the project may be able to access. If applicable, the budget plan can include any proposed cost-sharing measures undertaken by the host institution or a third party. All applicants must use the budget template provided by ACLS.
An uploaded bibliography (no more than two pages, single-spaced with hanging indents) demonstrating relevant primary and secondary sources to be utilized in the proposed project.
A combined upload of each curriculum vitae (CV)/resume for the PI(s) and key collaborators (no more than three pages per CV/resume). The upload must be one continuous document.
An upload of optional supporting materials (no more than two pages) with images, musical scores, or similar supporting materials. Applicants proposing translation-based projects should include a sample of the text and translation here.
Upload of letter(s) of support (no more than one page per letter) from the relevant community partners, cultural institutions, or community leaders named in the proposal. If the project features extramural community partners, this statement of support should be written by a member of that organization with extensive contact with the project team who can speak to the organization’s involvement with the project. The upload must be one continuous document.
The grant funds must be paid out to an official fiduciary host institution for the project. An Institutional Statement must be submitted separately through the OFA system. A senior official at the host institution (e.g., a dean, provost, president, or other appropriate senior administrator) must submit the institutional statement confirming support for the proposed project and its administration. The institutional statement is not a reference letter and does not require senior officials to assess the scholarly ambitions of the proposed project. Rather, it is a form with a series of checkboxes confirming:
- the outlined budget is acceptable to the institution
- the institution will administer the proposed grant funds in accordance with the project budget and timeline
- not more than 5% of the total grant amount will be used to cover the cost of administrating funds for the project. Direct costs will only include costs associated with the outlined work plan.