Fellowships Available

Hemera Fellowships

Fellowships for 2024 now available!

Please feel free to check back in for any updates, and please do not apply unless it is noted that additional funding has become available. Check our Retreat Center schedule to see which retreats offer Fellowships.

Thanks to generous grants from the Hemera Foundation, Contemplative Fellowships are available to anyone with a commitment to service – a deep desire to devote oneself to serving others through one’s work.

Eligibility has been expanded: applicants must be 18 years of age or older and working full-time, or at least half-time, in the identified human services profession.

The Hemera Contemplative Fellowship Program was created to make the unique benefits of meditation practice in a retreat context more widely available. A meditation retreat offers a supportive training environment for the cultivation of mindfulness, compassion and personal well-being, qualities that can improve professional lives and workplace culture.

Retreat cost is calculated at IMS’s Sustaining Rate, which represents the actual cost to IMS, including room and board. If you meet the requirements outlined under Eligibility, you can apply for partial coverage of your course fee:

— Those who are new to meditation, or have never attended a retreat longer than two nights, or are new to IMS, are eligible for 75% funding.
— Those with previous meditation retreat experience are eligible for 50% funding.
— Additional funding beyond the 75% or 50 % level is available on a needs basis.
— Fellowships are limited to one per individual per calendar year.

Eligibility

Examples of professionals eligible for fellowships:

**Educators: pre-K through college
**School administrators and staff: principals, guidance counselors, advisors, nurses, librarians and school safety officers
**Health care professionals: physicians, nurses, orderlies, medical technicians, dentists,
psychologists, psychiatrists, therapists, social workers, chaplains, medical school
students and hospice staff
**Artists: full-time visual artists, performance artists, writers, multi-disciplinary artists
**First responders: police, firefighters, EMTs, paramedics, 911 dispatchers, disaster
response teams
**Military: active duty, reservists and veterans
**Others:
— Any individual aged 25 and under

— Public defenders, legal aid attorneys, victim advocates, human rights advocates
— Employees working for any 501(3)(c) non-profit organization or private
foundation
— Employees working in direct human services (government or private). Examples
include health and human services, child protective services, workforce development

Application Process

If you meet the above requirements, you can sign up for any 2024 Retreat Center course for which Hemera funds are available. If the retreat you’d like to attend opens for registrations later in the year, you will see that date on the schedule page, below the rates for the course. Make a note of the date, and fill out your Hemera application at the same time you register for the retreat.

Since funds are limited, fellowships will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

To apply, first check our Retreat Center schedule to find a retreat. Then fill out the application. The Hemera Foundation charges a $5 application fee.

If you are awarded a fellowship, you will be notified by IMS Registration within two weeks of your application date. We ask that you commit to attending the entire retreat. If you have to cancel, it is important that you notify IMS right away.

Hemera fellowships do not include compensation for the teachings. There is an opportunity to offer donations to theteachersand toIMSat the end of each retreat.

By applying for a Hemera Contemplative Fellowship, you agree to share your contact information with the Hemera Foundation.

If you know others who might be interested, please spread the word.