The Zen Foundation
Overview
Mission
The Zen Foundation exists to support education, outreach and activities of the San Francisco Zen Center and each of its temples, as well as the organizations The Zen Foundation fiscally sponsors.
What it reported doing in 2024
SF Zen Center Projects
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent revenue detail to tell how this nonprofit funds its work.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 261333960
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2016–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990-EZ 2024, Form 990-N 2014
- Location
- San Francisco, CA, USA
- Phone
- 4153540435
- Rating
- 91
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Religion Related N.E.C.
- Affiliation
- Buddhism
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $20,154
- Expenses
- $21,342
- Assets
- $830
- Liabilities
- $85,951
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and revenue has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 100
- Transparency & Controls: 100
- Sustainability: 25
- 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: Yes; rating input score 100
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -5.9%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.04; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 103.56; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -1.7% per year; rating input score 0; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -23% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -26.8% per year; rating input score 0; 8th 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 · $21K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
- Consistency: 8 of 8 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules
- Filing history: 9 annual filings from 2016 to 2024
- 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 35/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 8/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 0/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.
Leadership & pay
3 people listed
People named in this filing
- Michael McCord (President)
- Eli Brown-Stevenson (Secretary)
- Jenny Mok (Treasurer)
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 2024.