Berkeley Zen Center

Overview

Mission

Zazen—meditation, or sitting in stillness—is the center of our practice, following and adapting the traditions of Soto Zen Buddhism. If you have been sitting at BZC for a few months and wish to contribute regularly to support the practice, we encourage you to become a member of Berkeley Zen Center. Please speak with one of the practice leaders or with the contact person identified at Saturday lecture to discuss membership and receive an application. More information about membership Dokusan and Practice Discussion Dokusan with our Abiding Teachers and one-on-one meetings with BZC Practice Leaders are available. Please see the Practice Leader page for contact information.

What it reported doing in 2015

Residential training: this program provides a structured environment for approximately 10 zen students, who live on the premises and follow a schedule of religious activities.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237452822
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2015
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2015
Location
Berkeley, CA, United States
Phone
5108435471
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Buddhism
Affiliation
Buddhism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$221,159
Expenses
$197,842
Assets
$708,628
Liabilities
$1,958

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2015. Amounts in USD.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 16
  • Sustainability: 62
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.3%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 86.7%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $21.27 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

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: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 10.5%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.58; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 33.6%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 78.3% of revenue deployed · 86.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 140 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $172K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $45K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 annual filings from 2010 to 2015
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • SOJUN MELVIN WEITSMAN (ABBOT): $44,620 total reported compensation
  • HOZAN ALAN SENAUKE (VICE ABBOT): $21,784 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2015.