The Brahmananda Saraswati Yagya Foundation concentrates almost all of its giving on organizations tied to the Maharishi/Vedic movement and affiliated spiritual, educational, and world‑peace initiatives. Grants are overwhelmingly directed to networked entities (several with near-identical names), supporting institutional operations and program support rather than unrelated charities. The foundation prioritizes sustaining its ecosystem of related foundations and projects focused on Vedic knowledge, meditation, and global peace promotion.
A defining feature of Brahmananda Saraswati Yagya Foundation is how tightly it channels funding into a single related network. The largest recent grants all went to Brahmananda Saraswati Foundation, including $1,760,084 in 2023, $1,666,990 in 2024, and $1,071,183 in 2025, showing sustained support across multiple years. Additional major awards flowed to Brahmananda Saraswati Jyotish Foundation and Global Country of World Peace, both in Fairfield, Iowa, reinforcing a pattern of institutional support within the Maharishi/Vedic ecosystem. The foundation’s grantmaking also reaches Raam Raj Foundation in Fairfield and Maharishi Vedic Science and Technology Foundation in Saint Louis. Across the recent grants list, the recurring purpose is support rather than one-time project-specific funding, with the foundation backing organizations connected to Vedic knowledge, meditation, and world-peace initiatives. Its most visible role is not broad charity across many sectors, but maintenance of affiliated foundations and programs tied to spiritual, educational, and ritual traditions.
In Vedic knowledge dissemination, the foundation gave $20,000 in 2023 to Maharishi Vedic Science and Technology Foundation for support. That grant sits alongside larger transfers to related entities that point to institutional backing for the movement’s educational and knowledge-preservation work. In global peace promotion, it awarded $180,000 in both 2024 and 2025 to Global Country of World Peace, again marked as support. The repeated grants suggest continuing funding for a standing program or organization rather than a one-off initiative. The foundation also backs affiliated administrative and operational structures through recurring support to Brahmananda Saraswati Jyotish Foundation, which received $300,000 in 2023, $382,700 in 2024, and $400,000 in 2025. These grants show a pattern of sustaining connected organizations that advance meditation, Vedic study, and related spiritual activities.
Typical grants are large: the p25 is $99,601, the median is $240,000, and the p75 is $703,772. The pattern is recurring support to the same affiliated recipients across multiple years rather than isolated awards. Brahmananda Saraswati Foundation, Brahmananda Saraswati Jyotish Foundation, Global Country of World Peace, and Raam Raj Foundation all appear more than once in the recent grants list. The foundation is a grantmaker with program-related investments noted in its profile, and its recent grant pattern is highly concentrated within a single philanthropic network. Recipient coverage is local, with nearly all grants staying in Iowa.
$1.8M
$16.5M
$9.1M
$9.2M
Most grants fall between $100K and $704K, with a median of $240K.
25th Percentile
$100K
Median
$240K
75th Percentile
$704K
RICHARD BOYLAND
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Highly concentrated and inward-facing: a small number of large grants (totaling the vast majority of dollars) to a few repeat, affiliated grantees; multiple grants to the same entities suggest ongoing core support and internal funding flows rather than broad, diversified philanthropy.
Notable grantees: Brahmananda Saraswati Foundation, Brahmananda Saraswati Jyotish Foundation, Global Country of World Peace, Raam Raj Foundation, Maharishi Vedic Science and Technology Foundation
Grantmaking is heavily concentrated in Iowa: 88% of grants went to recipients in the foundation’s headquarters state. Fairfield is the main recipient city, appearing repeatedly across the recent grants list. Most of the top recipients are based there, including Brahmananda Saraswati Foundation, Brahmananda Saraswati Jyotish Foundation, Global Country of World Peace, and Raam Raj Foundation. The only recent recipient outside Iowa in the list is Maharishi Vedic Science and Technology Foundation in Saint Louis, Missouri. All listed recent grants went to U.S. recipients.
Its recent grants overwhelmingly support organizations tied to the Maharishi/Vedic movement, including affiliated foundations, meditation and global peace initiatives, and Vedic science and education groups. The named recipients in the recent grants list are all part of that network or closely aligned with it.
The pattern is recurring. Brahmananda Saraswati Foundation received grants in 2023, 2024, and 2025; Brahmananda Saraswati Jyotish Foundation received grants in each of those same years; and Global Country of World Peace received grants in 2024 and 2025.
The grant-size distribution is large. The p25 is $99,601, the median grant is $240,000, and the p75 is $703,772. That suggests the foundation usually makes substantial awards rather than small discretionary grants.
Most grants go to Iowa recipients, and 88% of grants were given to organizations in the foundation’s headquarters state. Fairfield, Iowa, appears repeatedly among the recent grant recipients, with one recent exception in Saint Louis, Missouri.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRAHMANANDA SARASWATI FOUNDATION | FAIRFIELD, IA | $1,071,183 | 2025 | SUPPORT |
| BRAHMANANDA SARASWATI JYOTISH FOUNDATION | FAIRFIELD, IA | $400,000 | 2025 | SUPPORT |
| GLOBAL COUNTRY OF WORLD PEACE | FAIRFIELD, IA | $180,000 | 2025 | SUPPORT |
| RAAM RAJ FOUNDATION | FAIRFIELD, IA | $120,000 | 2025 | SUPPORT |
| BRAHMANANDA SARASWATI FOUNDATION | FAIRFIELD, IA | $1,666,990 | 2024 | SUPPORT |
| BRAHMANANDA SARASWATI JYOTISH FOUNDATION | FAIRFIELD, IA | $382,700 | 2024 | SUPPORT |
| GLOBAL COUNTRY OF WORLD PEACE | FAIRFIELD, IA | $180,000 | 2024 | SUPPORT |
| RAAM RAJ FOUNDATION | FAIRFIELD, IA | $105,000 | 2024 | SUPPORT |
| BRAHMANANDA SARASWATI FOUNDATION | FAIRFIELD, IA | $1,760,084 | 2023 | SUPPORT |
| BRAHMANANDA SARASWATI JYOTISH FOUNDATION | FAIRFIELD, IA | $300,000 | 2023 | SUPPORT |
| RAAM RAJ FOUNDATION | FAIRFIELD, IA | $83,403 | 2023 | SUPPORT |
| MAHARISHI VEDIC SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FOUNDATION | SAINT LOUIS, MO | $20,000 | 2023 | SUPPORT |
BRAHMANANDA SARASWATI JYOTISH FOUNDATION
$400,000SUPPORT
GLOBAL COUNTRY OF WORLD PEACE
$180,000SUPPORT
BRAHMANANDA SARASWATI JYOTISH FOUNDATION
SUPPORT
GLOBAL COUNTRY OF WORLD PEACE
$180,000SUPPORT
BRAHMANANDA SARASWATI JYOTISH FOUNDATION
$300,000SUPPORT
MAHARISHI VEDIC SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FOUNDATION
$20,000SUPPORT