Sheng-Yen Lu Foundation
Overview
Mission
Sheng-Yen Lu Foundation strives to combine compassion and philanthropy with strategic grant making to advance and promote quality health and education for all. Race-based inequities result in disproportionately negative outcomes across multiple measures of well-being. BIPOC communities tend to have less access to quality health care and higher rates of disease and illness compared to their white counterparts. In the educational system, students of color are disciplined more, graded lower, and have fewer role models in the classroom than their white peers; support for English Language Learners is inadequate. Systemic inequities also mean more families of color live in poverty than white families. Race-based inequities are created by past and present racism. It is imperative that we recognize, acknowledge, and address racism in order to make progress.
What it reported doing in 2024
Other grantmaking activity: sheng-yen lu foundation sponsored community events held by 40 partner organizations in 2024. One set of special projects is our disaster relief efforts. 100% of funds raised for disaster relief efforts go toward rebuilding the lives of those affected by disasters. In 2024, one organization received funds to help victims of the earthquake in taiwan, and another organization received funding for emergency response services in gaza. Sheng-yen lu foundation also made 13 rapid response grants in 2024. These grants are made to grantee partners who are facing an unanticipated need for funds to address an emergency situation. Sheng-yen lu foundation also made 10 community-led grants in 2024 to nonprofits that were nominated by our existing grantees. The goal of this funding stream is to broaden the scope of our philanthropic efforts and support newer and/or smaller organizations in their development. Finally, one additional special projects grant was made in 2024 to support a sabbatical fund for bipoc nonprofit leaders in Washington state, and an additional special projects grant was made as a capital campaign gift to a healthcare organization.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 69% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 93% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 263276872
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Website reviewed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Headquarters
- Redmond, WA, United States
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Buddhism
- Affiliation
- Buddhism
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 95
- Transparency & Controls: 74
- Accountability: 82
- Sustainability: 42
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 93.4%; rating input score 93
- Fundraising efficiency: $55.23 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
- Grant itemization coverage: 98.4%; rating input score 98; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- 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: 2 of 5 controls in place; rating input score 40
- Impact reporting controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
- Public relationship transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- Public governance controls: 1 of 4 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Zakat policy transparency: Limited
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -44.8%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Operating reserve ratio: 4.18; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 3.8%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 19.6% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 10.4% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 93.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 2 of 2 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $2.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $99K · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 30 of 31 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and grants
- Filing history: 15 annual filings from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 68 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 67 filed related-organization links
- 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.