Persian Heritage Foundation

The Persian Heritage Foundation, based in Fresno, California, is a U.S.-registered non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and promoting research on all aspects of the Persianate world. Founded in 1983 by Professor Ehsan Yarshater, the Foundation offers comprehensive funding opportunities for scholars, researchers, and cultural institutions pursuing academic and artistic projects related to Persian studies. The organization provides grants and fellowships for academic research activities, offers limited funding for seminars and conferences, and welcomes applications for lecture series at prestigious universities and museums across the United States and internationally. The Foundation maintains ongoing support for the Seminar on Iranian Studies at Columbia University and sponsors the distinguished Yarshater Lectures, delivered by renowned scholars at the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of Maryland, and the universities of London and Paris. As a certified tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization, the Persian Heritage Foundation in Fresno, CA is committed to advancing knowledge of Persian culture through multiple publication initiatives, including the History of Persian Literature series, the Persian Heritage Series featuring translations of Persian classics into major Western languages, the Persian Studies Series of scholarly monographs, the Persian Art Series, and critical editions of important texts in Persian prose and poetry. The Foundation also publishes and distributes research results across all aspects of Iranian Studies, serving the academic and cultural communities with rigorous, historically authentic scholarship that extends beyond Iran's present boundaries to encompass Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Indian Subcontinent, and the wider Iranian diaspora.