Uma Institute for Tibetan Studies

Overview

Mission

Primary exempt purpose is 1) translation into English (and possibly other languages) of texts from Tibetan Buddhist traditions, 2) seminars, classes, and retreats on focal topics of Tibetan Buddhism and instruction in the literary and colloquial aspects of the Tibetan language, and 3) maintenance and development of multimedia archives as research and instructional resources accessible across the worldwide web.

What it reported doing in 2025

The UMA Institute of Tibetan Studies makes available in English on its website texts from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition that are key to understanding that rich philosophical tradition. Translations on the website are available for free download. UMA also develops, maintains, and makes available on its website multimedia archives for research and instruction. In 2025 UMA regularized the formatting of ISBN numbers of documents on the website and did final bibliographic work to bring some of Professor Jeffrey Hopkins' work to completion; it also began a project to make various of Professor Hopkins' unpublished works, currently available on the UMA Institute's website, available as bound volumes downloadable from Amazon.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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
261257649
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2012–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2019, Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2010
Location
Salem, OR, USA
Phone
4153518147
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Buddhism
Affiliation
Buddhism

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,531
Expenses
$14,500
Assets
$95,197
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 100
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -220%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.57; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -23% per year; rating input score 0; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -15.3% per year; rating input score 0; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -9.6% per year; rating input score 0; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $14K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 7 annual filings from 2012 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

People named in this filing

  • Kevin Vose (Board Chair)
  • Elizabeth Napper (Vice President)
  • Jules B Levinson (Secretary)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025.