Insight Meditation Society

Legal name: Dhamma Vihara

Overview

Mission

IMS is a spiritual refuge for all who seek freedom of mind and heart. We offer meditation retreats and online programs rooted in the Theravada teachings of ethics, concentration and wisdom, helping develop awareness and compassion, giving rise to greater peace and happiness in the world. The vision of IMS is to uphold the possibility of liberation for all beings. Our mission IMS is a spiritual refuge for all who seek freedom of mind and heart. We offer meditation retreats and online programs rooted in the Theravada teachings of ethics, concentration and wisdom. These practices help develop awareness and compassion in ourselves, giving rise to greater peace and happiness in the world. These...

What it reported doing in 2025

The organizations provided housing for buddhist monks and pastors.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 94% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The nonprofit carried out 100% of its reported program work directly.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
222959507
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Website reviewed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Headquarters
Barre, MA, United States
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Affiliation
Buddhism

Official website

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports that some governance safeguards are missing and the website gives limited detail about how work or grants are monitored.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 98
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 70
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 95.7%; rating input score 96
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited
  • Public monitoring controls: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
  • Public policy transparency: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
  • Public financial transparency: 1 of 5 controls in place; rating input score 20
  • Impact reporting controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
  • Public relationship transparency: No; rating input score 0

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
  • Public governance controls: 4 of 4 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Zakat policy transparency: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 15.1%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Operating reserve ratio: 26.47; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.6% per year; rating input score 0; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.7% per year; rating input score 0; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 95.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $78K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 15 annual filings from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.