Generous anniversary year – LF allocated a record amount to support Lithuanian heritage

At the end of the year, many look back at the year that has passed. The Lithuanian Foundation is no exception. Despite the difficult pandemic year, the Foundation has been working non-stop and achieved things to rejoice: a total of $1,591,721 have been distributed to support various projects and scholarships in 2022, i.e., 11.6% more than in 2021.

A significant part of these funds (approximately 2/3) is the interest from designated funds established in the Lithuanian Foundation. At present, 117 such funds have been set up.

It has been four years since the LF Grants Commission (GC) started convening twice a year to distribute funds – in the spring (the first round of funding) and in the autumn (the second round of funding). The first meeting of the Grants Commission in 2022 took place on 21 May, and the second on 22 October.

The Lithuanian Foundation operates and disburses funding according to section 501(c) (3) of the US Internal Revenue Code. The distribution of funds is guided by the funding and scholarship priorities approved by the Board of Directors.

124 applications were submitted for the first round in 2022 (93 applications – 75% – were approved for funding), and 41 applications were submitted for the second round (34 – 82,9% – were approved). After carefully and thoroughly reviewing the applications, the commission decided to approve a total of 127 applications and allocated $1,134,270 to support these projects in 2022.

Additionally, $19,743 will be dispersed directly to Lithuanian and US organizations to support projects from donor-directed funds, according to the donors’ wishes and designations,

In 2022, a total of $1,154,013 will be allocated to fund various projects.

The complete list of awards can be found here:
2022 first LF grant allocation
2022 second LF grant allocation

The decisions taken during the two meetings of the Grants Committee were forwarded to the LF Board for approval. The Board approved them in meetings on 8 June (first round) and 6 December (second round).

The most considerable amount of support was awarded to the Lithuanian American Community – $593,962 (51%), various Lithuanian organizations in the US – $447,537 (39%), Lithuanian organizations in other countries – $20,500 (2%), applicants from Lithuania – $36,345 (3%), and $55,669 to the Lithuanian World Community (5%).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Members of the Scholarship Sub-Commission convened on 19 November 2022. They reviewed 143 students’ applications for scholarships and decided to grant 98 of them, allocating $395,085. Eighty-one Lithuanians studying in the US, six in Lithuania, two each in Great Britain, Canada, and Switzerland one in each Austria, Belgium, and Poland will receive Lithuanian Foundation’s scholarships.

A list of scholarship recipients can be found here:
2022 LF scholarship recipients

An additional $42,623 will be disbursed from LF’s special donor-directed funds, according to the donors’ wishes and designations, directly to higher education institutions in Lithuania.

A total of $437,708 will be distributed for scholarships in 2022.

US dollars allocated in 2022 according to types of activities:

Scholarships – $437,708
Grants – $1,154,013:
Educational activities – 205,266
Social activities – 108,691
Cultural activities – 260,468
Lithuanian centers (buildings) – 169,000
Youth activities – 133,938
Lithuanian media – 84,250
Campsites (buildings) – 60,000
Archives – 70,400
Administrative Support – 62,000

 

LF information