What We Do

Foundation Philosophy Concerning Educational Programs

Both international and domestic programs are eligible for support. The Foundation believes that the greatest learning, development of self-awareness, and development of global understanding occurs when students are given the opportunity to live and study in locations which have different creature comforts and cultural values than those they have grown up with. It is expected that the student will spend not less than one month nor more than an academic semester immersed in courses and/or self-described programs of study described in their proposal.

Each year The Foundation invites applicants to submit proposals using the template found on this website. Applications will be reviewed by the Advisory Committee for the Spirit of Life Foundation, and each year one proposal will be selected for funding. The amount of each award will be determined by the budget provided in the application and the availability of funds from the endowment that supports this program. The foundation's endowment is currently able to make an award of up to $7,000.

The Foundation will support students interested in learning how other countries, or places in the United States, have found solutions for societal problems facing all Americans. In short, they should set aside the idea that America always does it best and ask, "How was a societal or technical problem addressed elsewhere and how can I help bring the ideas used to America?"

It will be up to the applicant to identify an unmet need and to create a proposal that identifies the need and describes a course of study that will result in a report to share the ideas that developed from the study.

International Programs may be through ongoing relationships between the student's home college and a college or university in a different country or they may be arranged independently by the student with the approval of his/her college.

Domestic Programs must be at a separate physical location from the student's home college.

Since the goal of The Foundation is to support programs where the student is immersed in an environment different from their home college or university, the Foundation does not provide support for online programs.