Banyan Botanicals Community Grant Fund

Banyan’s mission is to help people achieve and maintain health and well-being through the wisdom of Ayurveda. We believe that Ayurvedic principles and practices can help heal people, communities, and the world, and we are passionate about making Ayurveda accessible to all. 

With our Community Grant Fund, it is our intention to acknowledge and support Ayurvedic and wellness change makers who are serving their communities with community health programs.  

What We Will Fund

This year we are opening up our grant program to applicants outside of the professional Ayurveda community, and we are encouraging a diversity of applicants and community health projects as long as the project can be related to at least one of the following Ayurvedic principles: 

• Ayurveda is a holistic modality, honoring the interconnection of mind, body, and spirit.

• Ayurveda is not "one size fits all" but rather addresses health and balance as unique to each individual. As such, it requires the active participation of each person in their own healing journey.

• Ayurveda sees the inherent connection between humans and nature.

• Ayurveda sees the world through the lens of the five elements and the doshas. 

• Ayurveda seeks out and addresses the root cause of imbalance, rather than addressing symptoms of imbalance.

• Ayurvedic healing is in alignment with the laws of nature, including like increases like and opposites balance.

We will award 2–8 grants ranging from $250–$4,000 per grant recipient. Each recipient can also take advantage of $250–$500 in Banyan product donations to support their projects.

How to Apply

1. Please be sure to read our Official Rules and Scorecard. 

2. Then complete an online application.

If you don’t feel your project is eligible for a grant but is in alignment with our mission and values, we also offer product donations to support workshops, as well as in-kind product donations to support philanthropic events. 

• Apply here for workshop product donations.

• Apply here for in-kind product donations for philanthropic events. 

Submission Period

Submission period: August 7–Saturday September 30, 2023
Screening period: October 2–Nov 10, 2023
Announce recipients: by November 10, 2023

Meet Some of Our Grant Recipients

2023 Recipients

Alyn Bermudez and Tierra De Luna

Tierra de Luna's Prayer with the Elders project supports local Puerto Rican elders with in-home visits, including freshly prepared meals, seed planting, and story sharing. They will also create a book of traditional recipes and cultural wisdom to pass from these elders to younger generations.

Kadiatu Sibi's Web of Family Wellness

Kadi is an Ayurvedic practitioner in Los Angeles working to bring Ayurveda to inner city families and survivors of domestic abuse. Her Web of Family Wellness project offers in-home Ayurvedic meals, treatments, and education to BIPOC families in need of support.

Leila Jewayni's Refugee Healing with Ayurveda

Leila is passionate about using Ayurveda to support the mental well-being of refugees. By sharing Ayurvedic daily routine, cooking, herbal teas, and yoga and meditation practices, she will support a group of refugees while also conducting a study in order to publish and share her findings.

Caitlin Duquette and Maui Herbal Mutual Aid

In response to the 2023 Maui wildfires, Caitlin has been working hard to collect, create, and distribute herbal products to displaced peoples, first responders, and Indigenous community organizers. Her project embodies a commitment to holistic well-being, unity, and cultural reverence.

Sondra Hamilton's Yoni Steaming for Women

Sondra's project, Awakening the Voice of the Womb, aims to connect underserved women to their bodies, minds, and spirits through the use of herbal yoni steams. Through a safe and empowering series of workshops, the participants will receive everything they need to practice steaming in their own homes.

2020 Recipients

Olatokunboh Obasi and the Omaroti Well of Indigenous Wisdom

An African herbalist, healer, doula, and extraordinary human, Ola has been working with plants and healing since the age of nine. She works to empower the Afro-Indigenous communities of Puerto Rico by making clinical herbalism, education, and herbal medicines accessible to all.

Amy Branum and The Northern California School of Botanical Studies

Amy is devoted to making Ayurveda and herbal healing more accessible to the people of color in her community by offering free consultations, body work, and herbal remedies. She also offers free workshops on resilience-healing, stress management, and supporting the nervous system.

2019 Recipient

Alakanda Ma and the Alandi Ayurvedic Clinic

What sets this clinic apart is their mission, which is to provide Ayurvedic healthcare and herbal medicine to all people of their community, regardless of income. “Our commitment is to never turn anyone away, due to lack of ability to pay.”—Alakananda Ma.

2018 Recipient

Rogue Community Herbalism

Rogue Community Herbalism is a team of visionary herbalists in Southern Oregon who offer free and accessible herbal wellness services to individuals and communities in need. Watch this video to learn about the great work they are doing in their community.