“Wherever we find ourselves in life, whatever the circumstances, whatever habits may be influencing our decisions,” Sir John Templeton wrote, “we can transform each situation into a learning and growing experience. We can determine how to be the masters of our habits so that our habits can be useful servants to us.” For Sir John, such self-awareness and personal growth depended on a deeper understanding of the circumstances in which good character flourishes and of the roots of good character in human nature, whether understood from a scientific, philosophical, or religious point of view.
The Foundation supports a broad range of programs, publications, and studies focused on the universal truths of character development, from childhood through young adulthood and beyond. The qualities of character emphasized by Sir John in the Foundation’s charter include awe, creativity, curiosity, diligence, entrepreneurialism, forgiveness, future-mindedness, generosity, gratitude, honesty, humility, joy, love, purpose, reliability, and thrift.
We remain open to other possibilities for extending our activities in the area of character development, especially projects that deal with the crucial relationship between culture (as expressed in beliefs, values, and worldview) and behavior. As Sir John emphasized in the "Laws of Life" that he saw as the key to character development, "When you rule your mind, you rule your world."
- Project Leader(s)
Susan Luby, Regional Manager/Program Director
Character Counts Mid Shore, Inc
- Grantee(s)
Character Counts Mid Shore, Inc
- Description
-
Young people today face many problems especially in making the right choices. Writing a Laws of Life Essay creates an opportunity to make an affirmation in which to live by. Writing is often used to release feelings or began a healing process for some students. Each year we receive heartfelt essays about choices they wished they had made and by stating a -Law of Life- they now have a guide/goal. Some students use their Laws of Life Essay as their college entrance essay while others use this opportunity to tell their personal story.
- Grant Amount:
- $5,000
- Start Date:
- November 2010
- End Date:
- March 2011
- Grant ID:
- 20082
- Project Leader(s)
Byron Johnson
Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences
Baylor University
Rodney Stark
Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences
Baylor University
- Grantee(s)
Baylor University (Waco, Texas)
- Description
-
This grant supports a series of studies to examine the impact of Scouting in fostering positive youth development and healthy, virtuous behaviors. The empirical studies plan to provide an in-depth sociological profile of former Scouts, and to investigate the long-term impact Scouting had on their character development. The research findings will be published in journal articles, popular articles, and a major book.
- Grant Amount:
- $992,508
- Start Date:
- November 2009
- End Date:
- October 2011
- Grant ID:
- 15465
- Grantee Website
- Project Leader(s)
Jody Hassett Sanchez
President, Pointy Shoe Productions
- Grantee(s)
Pointy Shoe Productions (Alexandria, Virginia)
- Description
-
This grant supported the production of a documentary film that profiles three activists working to end modern-day human trafficking. Broadcasts, screenings, and DVD distribution are expected to reach 20 million viewers worldwide. The project includes a curriculum guide and is intended to help reframe the conversation about modern-day slavery.
- Grant Amount:
- $225,000
- Start Date:
- July 2006
- End Date:
- July 2009
- Grant ID:
- 12199
- Grantee Website
Author:
Victor Joseph, D.Min.
Kent Hill, Ph.D. (Editor)
Funded by the John Templeton Foundation, the report focuses on trafficked victims between the ages of 14 and 22 who were sold into brothels. The research analyzes their psychological and emotional stages in a post-brothel setting, and also looks at the impact of forgiveness and future-mindedness on their lives.
The Good Teen: Rescuing Adolescence from the Myths of the Storm and Stress Years
Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make you Happier
- Project Leader(s)
Thor L. Halvorssen
Human Rights Foundation
- Grantee(s)
Human Rights Foundation (New York, NY)
- Description
-
This project brought together many of the world’s most remarkable former political prisoners in Oslo, Norway, to pay tribute to their steadfast purpose and commitment to freedom. To chronicle the event, the Human Rights Foundation published an anthology of selected portions of the honorees' writings and produced a feature-length DVD of the conference for wide distribution.
- Grant Amount:
- $286,000
- Start Date:
- September 2007
- End Date:
- May 2009
- Grant ID:
- 12671
- Grantee Website
- Project Leader(s)
Deborah Scranton
Director, Sparks Rising, LLC
- Grantee(s)
Sparks Rising, LLC
(Goshen, New Hampshire)
- Description
-
This project supports the production and strategic dissemination of "Earth Made of Glass", a feature film that explores the theme of forgiveness in Rwanda. The film will particularly focus on the question of whether, and how, it is possible to forgive those who have killed members of one's own family, and will feature a new production style which involves Rwandans in the actual filming.
- Grant Amount:
- $1,318,768
- Start Date:
- May 2008
- End Date:
- September 2009
- Grant ID:
- 13906
- Grantee Website
- Project Leader(s)
Roberta Greene
The Louis and Ann Wolens Centennial Chair in Gerontology and Social Welfare
University of Texas at Austin
- Grantee(s)
University of Texas at Austin (Austin, Texas)
- Description
-
This grant supported a three-year research project on forgiveness, resiliency, and survivorship among Holocaust survivors in an effort to assist people who have gone through traumatic events.
- Grant Amount:
- $468,416
- Start Date:
- June 2007
- End Date:
- May 2010
- Grant ID:
- 12082
- Grantee Website
- Project Leader(s)
Edward C. Green
Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies
Harvard University
- Grantee(s)
Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
- Description
-
These grants supported the development of an innovative study center to examine the importance of human character and moral choice in HIV/AIDS prevention. The project included a symposium in Kampala, Uganda to advance scientific and scholarly understanding of the efficacy of behavior-based programs in preventing population-wide HIV-infection. A scholarly edited volume will present the findings of the symposium participants.
- Grant Amount:
- $2,246,514
- Start Date:
- July 2004
- End Date:
- February 2009
- Grant ID:
- 11364, 11869, 11874, 12345
Suite of four separate grants totaling $2,246,514
- Grantee Website
