Bhutan Foundation

The Bhutan Foundation is a non-profit organisation registered as a 501(c)(3) charity in the United States that supports development cooperation with the Kingdom of Bhutan. Originally registered in 1986 and re-launched in 2002 as the principal US-based partner of Bhutan's third-sector development, it operates from offices in Washington DC and Thimphu and works in five core programme areas: environmental conservation, sustainable development, cultural preservation, good governance, and public engagement around Bhutan in the United States.

It is the largest US-based fundraising channel for Bhutan-focused work. Its main institutional counterparts include the Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation, the Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN), the Tarayana Foundation, the Ability Bhutan Society and the Royal Government of Bhutan.

History

The Bhutan Foundation was first registered as a 501(c)(3) in 1986 with the IRS, holding EIN 13-3376290. It functioned at small scale through the 1990s. In 2002 the foundation was re-launched and substantially expanded under the long-time conservation campaigner Bruce Bunting, who had previously directed the Asia programme of the World Wildlife Fund and had a personal connection to Bhutan dating from the late 1980s. Under Bunting's leadership the foundation expanded from a primarily conservation-focused body to one with diversified portfolios in education, healthcare and governance.^[1]

Queen Mother Ashi Tshering Pem Wangchuck serves as co-chair of the foundation's board of directors. The Washington DC office is the principal fundraising and US-public-engagement hub, while a Thimphu office (added in the 2010s) coordinates programme implementation with Bhutanese partners.

Programmes

The foundation organises its work across five interlocking themes:

• Environmental conservation — including support for snow leopard protection in Bhutan, climate-resilience programmes, the conservation work of the RSPN, and contributions to the Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation.
• Sustainable development — including the Lingzhi School in remote north-western Bhutan, special-needs and inclusive-education partnerships with the Wangsel Institute for the Deaf and Ability Bhutan Society, and emergency-medicine training programmes with the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital.
• Cultural preservation — palace restoration, traditional medicine support, and heritage-site documentation.
• Good governance — civic-engagement initiatives and civil-society capacity building, including support for the development of the CSO sector since the 2007 CSO Act.
• Public engagement — events, publications, and the Bruce Bunting Scholarship for Bhutanese students at US universities.

According to its IRS Form 990 filings, the foundation had annual revenue in the range of US$3-5 million in the early 2020s, channelled overwhelmingly to programme work in Bhutan. It works with approximately forty Bhutanese partner organisations and over twenty international partners.^[2]

Notable initiatives

Among its better-known initiatives are the support of the snow leopard population assessments conducted with the Department of Forests and Park Services, the Bruce Bunting Scholarship Programme for Bhutanese students, and the contribution of Nu 12 million to His Majesty's Kidu Fund for COVID-19 relief in 2020 to help finance the Druk Gyalpo's Relief Kidu. The foundation also coordinates the Friends of Bhutan network, a US-based donor community.^[3]

Contact information

• US office: Washington DC, United States
• Bhutan office: Thimphu, Bhutan
• Website: bhutanfound.org
• EIN: 13-3376290
• Phone: +1 (202) 609-7363

References

1. About the Bhutan Foundation — official site
2. The Bhutan Foundation — ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer
3. Bhutan Foundation Contributes Nu 12 Million to His Majesty's Kidu Fund — Bhutan Foundation
4. Charity Navigator rating — The Bhutan Foundation
5. Bruce Bunting Scholarship Recipients — Bhutan Foundation
6. Bhutan Partners — Bhutan Foundation