Programs

Esperanza Grants Paula Scholarships Espíritu Awards

ESPERANZA GRANTS

Grants in this category are awarded to nonprofits working to promote:

• Reproductive self-determination and healthcare
• Economic independence and social justice for women and girls
• Protection of women and children

Grants typically range from $1,000 to $5,000.

Please note that new proposals are not being accepted for Esperanza Grants at this time.

Past Recipients of Esperanza Grants include:

Download the Esperanza Grant Report Form

PAULA SCHOLARSHIPS

Paula Scholarships are granted to students who would otherwise be unable to afford higher education. These scholarships are distributed through select schools and organizations. The Isabel Allende Foundation does not accept requests for these scholarships.

In 2008, in conjunction with Marin Education Fund, my foundation established a special Paula scholarship in honor of Adais Marvez. Adais is a brave and compassionate woman who emigrated to the United States in her late teens, alone and without any money. She has since created a life for herself here, established her own day care center and is a monthly donor to my foundation. To read more about Adais, click here.

All our scholarships are administered through the Marin Education Fund.

Students living in Marin County may apply to:
Marin Education Fund, San Rafael, California

Download the Paula Scholarship Report Form

ESPÍRITU AWARDS

Espíritu Awards were established in 2001 and are proactively granted to celebrate, honor and support compassionate action in the Foundation's areas of interest.

Espíritu Awards are $10,000 - $15,000 each. Recipients are selected each fall by the foundation and its advisors. Unsolicited requests for Espíritu Awards are not accepted.

Center for Reproductive Rights
Planned Parenthood Foundation of America

V-Day: City of Joy
Center for Reproductive Rights
Motivating, Inspiring, Supporting and Serving
     Sexually Exploited Youth (MISSSEY)

Chile Ayuda a Chile
      (Isabel’s story)

Haiti Projects, Inc.
St. Boniface Haiti Foundation, Inc.
Partners in Health

Development and Education Programme for Daughters and
     Communities (DEPDC)
Freedom Firm USA
Friends-International. Inc.
Nepalese Youth Opportunity Foundation (NYOF)

Albergue Jesús el Buen Pastor del Pobre y el Migrante A. C.

Huckleberry Youth Programs
Mujeres Unidas y Activas

The Center for Young Women’s Development (CYWD)
GirlSource
Homeless Prenatal Program
Legal Services for Children

A Home Away from Homelessness
Novato Youth Center

Shanti, LifeLines Breast Cancer Services

Girls, Inc.
Jamestown Community Center

C.E.O. Women
Women’s Initiative for Self Employment

MoveOn
True Majority

The Carter Center

Ploughshares Fund

Edgewood Center for Children and Families
Huckleberry Youth Program, VIP Girls (Violence is Preventable) Program

Empona Foundation

826 Valencia
Writers Corps

Bring Me A Book Foundation

Peace X Peace Global Network

Yoga Inside Foundation
Fairfax/San Anselmo Children's Center

Women's Recovery Services
La Unidad de Adolescencia

City of Joy Aid
La Casa Esperanza

Project Open Hand

Marin Literacy Program
Project Read

2012 (115 KB)
2011 (113 KB)
2009 (94 KB)
2008 (868 KB)
2006 (102 KB)
2005 (108 KB)
2004 (155 KB)
2003 (113 KB)
2002 (113 KB)

Download the Espíritu Award Report Form

A man holds a Chilean flag in a floded are after the 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Pelluahue, about 200 miles southwest of Santiago, Sunday Feb 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Roberto Candia)

On March 4, 2010, I traveled to Santiago, Chile, to participate in Chile Ayuda a Chile (Chile Helps Chile), a 24-hour television fundraiser that aimed to raise the equivalent of $30 million for earthquake relief. Amazingly, it raised $59 million in an incredible effort that united the whole country. The beneficiaries of the telethon included Un Techo para Chile, Hogar de Cristo, and Fundación para la Superacion de la Pobreza. These organizations provide housing for the homeless and other humanitarian aid in a compassionate, accountable, and efficient manner. My first impressions of this trip to Chile are posted here. For the next six months my foundation accepted charitable contributions dedicated to Chilean earthquake relief. We raised an additional $11,365 and have distributed these funds to Un Techo para Chile; they in turn have provided shelter and other humanitarian services to those in need. When I arrived in Chile I was heartbroken, but now I am hopeful. Chileans are at their best in times of need. We will recover from the material loss and I hope that we will remain as generous and united as we were after the earthquake. – Isabel