Capital Campaign
Why Support the KPC Capital Campaign?
More than 35 years ago, at a time when Buddhism was still very new to the West, the site for Kunzang Odsal Palyul Changchub Choling (KPC) was chosen as the result of a vision of H.H. Penor Rinpoche. The property was able to be purchased due to a pooling of resources by its first students of H.E. Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo. Today, it is a place for spiritual enrichment with a thriving, hardworking community, and home to several monks and nuns.
But KPC has outgrown its current building. In order to meet the needs of our existing community, offer a suitable home for the ordained, and provide a spiritual sanctuary for all our friends and visitors, we must build and expand.
“This is about our legacy. This is about Ahkon Lhamo’s legacy, and all of these ordained people, and all of these laypeople. What you do here will live throughout time.”
– Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo Rinpoche, Spiritual Director and Founder of KPC
Update
Our first $1 million has been raised! The effort is profound, the contributions tremendous. Your promise to the KPC Capital Campaign is helping us make progress to realizing our dream of building housing for our ordained and a new temple for our growing community.
Total Raised: $1,132,655 so far!
Thank you again to all who are giving.
A Message from Jetsunma Ahkön Lhamo Rinpoche
“Years ago, when I looked for a place where people could go to meditate or pray at any time they needed to, day or night, I couldn’t find one.”
“I vowed back then to create just such a place. KPC, open 24 hours a day with its 24-hour-a-day prayer vigil, speaks to that. It is a dream come true. His Holiness Penor Rinpoche enthroned me in 1988 as a Tulku in the Palyul tradition. He put me here at Kunzang Palyul Choling to bring Tibetan Buddhism to the West.
“Palyul is expanding around the world, and they are very proud of KPC. They are lifting me up as one of their main tulkus. As its largest center in the West, it is up to KPC to carry the noble Palyul banner and make a significant contribution to its vision. My vision for KPC is to teach people how to practice, to mitigate suffering through prayer, and to benefit our community and the world. It is important to provide a place of refuge for people when they are in need. We don’t want to just help people in Maryland, however. We want to help the whole world. Our scope of help is unlimited.
“But right now, the temple is old and falling apart in ways that cannot be repaired, and our lands are not what they should be. There is so much we can do if we have the funds to rebuild this place. The Capital Campaign is difficult work but it will remedy our needs. We have to put a lot of energy into it, and we have the opportunity to gain significant merit by doing so. We have to accomplish this now, or there will be no place to serve the community going into the future at all. A new temple and a place for the monks and nuns to live will make my vision possible. When we create the temple the way it ought to be, it will leave us breathless.
“My plans are many, and I hope that you will stick with me and do the work. We can actually change things! If we do a good job in Maryland, we can do good throughout the world, perhaps with other centers in the future. Right now, we have to take care of this one, and the beautiful, meaningful things we have here. It will bring us so much joy…and the world so much comfort.”
Our Latest Testimonial Video
Enjoy our latest testimonial on why it’s so important to give to the Capital Campaign. See more testimonials here.
Your Questions Answered
There are several ways that you can participate in the Capital Campaign project. We recommend that making a monthly commitment for three years is the best way to help this project reach its potential as quickly as possible. It is also a wonderful way to show your support, and become a part of this precious legacy. If this is your preference, please visit the choice “Sign Up to Be Contacted” below.
We understand that not everyone can make that kind of commitment, so you are invited to visit the Capital Campaigns donation page and choose what works best for you. And thank you for showing that you care about KPC’s future.
Kunzang Odsal Palyul Changchub Choling (KPC) was started by a handful of American students, at a time when Buddhism was still very new to the West. Drubwang Pema Norbu (Penor) Rinpoche, the 11th throneholder of the Tibetan Buddhist Palyul tradition of Buddhism, recognized American-born Alyce Zeoli, as the reincarnation of the sister of the first throne holder of the Palyul lineage. He gave her the name Jetsunma Akhon Norbu Lhamo and helped her establish KPC. He also charged her with providing a path for Westerners to learn about Buddhism and the Palyul tradition.
The site for KPC was chosen as a result of a dream His Holiness had and a pooling of resources among KPC’s first students to make that dream a reality.
Today, with Jetsunma as Spiritual Director, and guidance from the 12th Palyul throne holder, His Holiness Karma Kuchen Rinpoche, KPC’s temple in Poolesville, Maryland, is a thriving ordained and lay community of practitioners.
- Temple
- Residential Building
- Dining Building
- Classrooms
- Audio/Visual Archives
- Offices
- Landscape and Hardscape
- Wastewater System
- Wetlands
- Storage
- Tractor Building
Total estimated costs: $10,000,000
A capital campaign is generically defined as an intense effort to raise a large amount of money for a specific project, during a limited period of time. How is a capital campaign different from other current or previous KPC fundraising efforts?
- The funds raised during this capital campaign are for the specific use of the renovation and rebuilding of our temple and surrounding property.
- The capital campaign is intended to raise a much larger amount than the annual budget.
- Annual giving and fundraising drives will continue as always, to cover our monthly and annual operating expenses.
- This capital campaign supports a tangible, permanent project, beyond monthly bills and temporary efforts. Your support will last a lifetime.
- Several giving options are available to spread payments out over a longer period of time; you choose the one that works best for you.
- A capital campaign requires a deeper, longer financial commitment.
We have developed several giving plans to accommodate every income level and financial situation. What plan is right for you?
Planning Our Gifts for Three Years
Yes, I would like someone to contact me.
Learn More About KPC
From a Member of the Capital Campaign Team
“When I first walked through the front door at KPC many years ago, I felt that I had come home. I realized then that I had been longing for this place all my life. For me KPC is a place where I can dedicate my life to something meaningful that can truly help others who are hurting. It is a place that radiates peace.
“We are so fortunate to belong to KPC, a community that is dedicated to practicing a pure and profound spiritual path for the sake of others. I am truly grateful to Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo and her students who many years ago pooled their resources and devoted themselves to create a temple, a Peace Park and all the stupas. Their efforts have made it possible for people to connect with the Buddha’s teaching and find peace.
“With the KPC Capital Campaign, we are embarking on the next phase for KPC – to build a new temple complex that will serve as a beacon for all who are searching for truth and refuge. It is our turn to create a temple that will reach countless seekers for generations. What a gift! In the coming months, each of us will have the extraordinary opportunity to contribute to this noble and meritorious project. I hope you will join me.”
Yours in the Dharma, Holly Christofferson
Reaching out to the Community
- KPC speakers have presented an introduction to Buddhism at high schools in Maryland and DC, as well as hosted tours for visiting groups.
- Engaged in documentaries produced by the National Wildlife Federation and by students of the Asian Art Institute and Santa Fe University.
- Participated in the Smithsonian Sackler Gallery exhibit on Buddhism,
- Coordinated community service programs for thousands of high school and university students to help caretake the 65-acre Peace Park
Social Caring, Saving Lives
- 8,000 homeless fed in Washington, DC.
- 5,500 bag lunches made for the homeless of Montgomery County, Maryland.
- Visited prisons on a regular basis since 1994 with thousands of correspondences providing spiritual materials.
- 360 dogs saved and rehomed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
- Scores of exotic birds saved and given lifelong sanctuary at the Garuda Aviary. Educational guidance provided to hundreds of bird owners.
- Countless lives saved in the live release of beings, such as those used for bait, that would have otherwise been killed.
35 Years of Caring
- 300,000 hours of prayer. The KPC Prayer Vigil has been maintained 24 hours a day, unbroken since April 1985, by the monks, nuns, and community members dedicated to the ending of suffering.
- 150,000 prayer requests made from people worldwide.
- Numerous teaching events hosting luminaries of the Buddhist world.
- 36 stupas, or sacred monuments, built to benefit all beings.
- KPC’s temple and grounds have been visited by hundreds of thousands of people over the past 33 years.
