Mind & Life Institute

What Mind & Life Institute does

Mind & Life Institute is an independent nonprofit organization founded in 1987 by the 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso), neuroscientist Francisco Varela, and lawyer-entrepreneur Adam Engle, with headquarters in Charlottesville, Virginia. The organization exists to bridge scientific inquiry and contemplative wisdom traditions, operating as a convening, grantmaking, and educational content platform rather than a commercial enterprise. Its core offerings include the Mind & Life Dialogues (multi-decade conversation series with the Dalai Lama and leading thinkers), the week-long residential Summer Research Institute at the Garrison Institute in New York, the Mind & Life Connect virtual community series, the monthly Inspiring Minds conversations, and four annual $25,000 research grant programs (Varela, Hanser, BESS Family Foundation, and Dill Legacy).

The organization's technology layer is content- and community-oriented rather than product-oriented: a digital library archiving decades of recorded dialogues, a podcast distributed through major directories, the monthly Mindstream newsletter, an Insights multimedia essay platform, a blog archive dating to 2010, and a self-paced online learning platform (courses.mindandlife.org). The most recent digital extension is a sliding-scale online course on the climate crisis and human-earth connection.

Mind & Life is funded primarily through philanthropic donations (processed via Classy) and foundation grants, with named institutional supporters including the Hershey Family Foundation (anchor SRI funder since 2004), Gaden Phodrang Foundation, Morrison Centre, BESS Family Foundation, and Lenz Foundation; past programmatic support came from the 1440 Foundation (2013-2017) and John Templeton Foundation (2012-2013). Programs and grants are offered free to participants. Customer segments span researchers, contemplative practitioners, educators, changemakers, and the general public; to date the institute has awarded 300+ grants totaling over $8 million across 28 countries, with grantees subsequently securing over $200 million in follow-on funding. Mind & Life Europe operates as a sister organization under the same founder vision.

Name

Mind & Life Institute

Legal name

Mind & Life Institute

Website

https://mindandlife.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Mind & Life Institute is an independent nonprofit that convenes scientists, contemplatives, and changemakers through dialogues, the Summer Research Institute, and grant programs (Varela, Hanser, BESS, Dill), distributing content via podcast, digital library, newsletter, and online courses to global audiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Contemplative Science Research and Education

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Meditation Apps, Digital Courses & Online Communities (HSADAJAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mindfulness-Based Coaching & Training (MBSR/MBCT-style) (HSADAJAB), Think Tanks, Policy Research & Public Policy Institutes (BPAGAFAO), Mindfulness, Meditation & Stress Management Education (EDAAAHAD)

Keywords

• Contemplative science research
• Contemplative research grants
• Mindfulness education programs
• Science and contemplative dialogue
• Nonprofit research institute

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlottesville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Philanthropy: The organization is primarily funded through donations from individuals, foundations, and corporate sponsors. The website features prominent 'Donate' calls-to-action and various giving options including planned giving.
2. Foundation Grants Received: Mind & Life receives grant funding from foundations including the Hershey Family Foundation (major SRI supporter since 2004), Gaden Phodrang Foundation of the Dalai Lama, Morrison Centre, BESS Family Foundation, Lenz Foundation, and previously the 1440 Foundation and John Templeton Foundation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Mind & Life Institute is a nonprofit organization that convenes scientists, contemplatives, scholars, and changemakers through multi-day Dialogues with the Dalai Lama, a Summer Research Institute, online conversation series, and grant programs funding contemplative research. It also produces a podcast, digital library, online courses, newsletter, and essays to disseminate insights at the intersection of science and contemplative wisdom.

Product overview

Mind & Life Institute operates as a platform-plus-programs organization rather than a single unified product. The core offerings include: Mind & Life Dialogues (large-scale conversations with the Dalai Lama and leading thinkers), the Summer Research Institute (week-long residential research program), Mind & Life Connect (online community conversations), and the Inspiring Minds Series (monthly online conversations). Supporting these are content platforms: the Mind & Life Podcast, Insights Essays multimedia website, the Digital Library archive, Mindstream monthly newsletter, and the Blog archive. The Institute also manages four research grant programs (Varela, Hanser, BESS, and Dill awards totaling $25,000 each). A self-paced online course on climate crisis and human-earth connection rounds out the offerings. All programs share the unifying mission of bridging science and contemplative wisdom to advance understanding of the mind and human flourishing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mind & Life Dialogues and Conversations Conversations between leading thinkers and spiritual leaders such as the Dalai Lama that address critical issues of modern life at the intersection of scientific and contemplative understanding. Aimed at researchers, contemplatives, educators, and the general public.
• Summer Research Institute (SRI) A week-long residential program held at the Garrison Institute in New York that fosters collaborative research among scientists, scholars, contemplatives, and social activists through inquiry and dialogue.
• Mind & Life Connect

Quantifiable outcome

• Francisco J. Varela grants have achieved 4,500% ROI with 21% annualized returns
• +2 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Mind & Life EuropecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMind & Life Europe is the sister organization of Mind & Life Institute, sharing the mission to alleviate suffering and promote human flourishing worldwide. Both organizations were founded under the vision of the Dalai Lama, Francisco Varela, and Adam Engle.
• Garrison InstitutecoreOthersThe Garrison Institute in New York serves as the annual venue for the Summer Research Institute since its inception in 2004. The institute provides the contemplative-oriented space for the week-long immersive program.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Mindful Schools: Nonprofit delivering mindfulness training and curriculum for K-12 educators and students. Comparable target segment (educators) and social-mission nonprofit structure.
• Tara Brach: Prominent meditation teacher offering talks, podcast, courses, and retreats at the intersection of contemplative practice and psychology. Comparable content-platform and community-led approach.
• Center for Healthy Minds (University of Wisconsin–Madison): Academic research center studying the science of well-being and contemplative practice, including neuroscience and meditation research. Overlaps directly with Mind & Life's contemplative-science research orientation and grant-supported research community.
• Insight Meditation Society: Nonprofit offering residential retreats, teacher training, and online programs in insight meditation. Comparable as a contemplative education and retreat organization serving a similar practitioner audience.
• Greater Good Science Center (UC Berkeley): Research and public-education center translating the science of happiness, mindfulness, and compassion into practice. Comparable as a research-to-public-content organization at the science/well-being intersection.
• Center for Contemplative Mind in Society: Nonprofit advancing contemplative practice in higher education and professional life. Overlaps with Mind & Life's educator segment and interdisciplinary dialogue model.
• Mind & Life Europe: Sister organization founded under the same vision of the Dalai Lama, Varela, and Engle. Shares the contemplative science mission, audience, and programming model, making it the most direct comparable.

Others

• Garrison Institute: Long-standing venue and program partner hosting Mind & Life's Summer Research Institute since 2004. Adjacent as a contemplative-convening organization with shared audiences and overlapping programming themes.

Broad incumbents

• Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute: Nonprofit born from Google's mindfulness program, offering corporate mindfulness training. Sits at the broader science/mindfulness interface with a more corporate-skewed audience.

Emerging players

• Upaya Zen Center: Nonprofit Zen center offering contemplative retreats, chaplaincy training, and programs integrating science and Buddhism. Comparable as a contemplative education provider with an explicit science-engagement mandate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mindandlife
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/mindandlifeinstitute
• Facebookfacebook.com/mindandlife
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-mind-and-life-institute
• Instagraminstagram.com/mindandlifeinstitute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Mind & Life Institute