Vajrapani Kadampa Buddhist Center

Overview

Mission

For exclusively religious purposes, to promote the Buddhist faith under the guidance of the elected General Spiritual Director (New Kadampa Tradition)through the activities of teaching, study, practice and the observance of moral discipline. To provide, manage, develop and administer facilities for teaching, study and meditation, to produce and distribute books, literature, artwork, audio and visual reproduction to support this purpose.

What it reported doing in 2020

Day/Evening Courses

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
263660789
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2020
Forms available
Form 990 2020
Location
Orlando, FL, USA
Phone
4078963998
Rating
61
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Buddhism
Affiliation
Buddhism

Reported finances

Revenue
$70,635
Expenses
$62,465
Assets
$250,852
Liabilities
$38,735

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Amounts in USD.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 30
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 54
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 32.1%; rating input score 32
  • Program expense ratio: 36.3%; rating input score 36
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 11.6%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.02; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.2% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.8% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 32.1% of revenue deployed · 36.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $23K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 10 annual filings from 2011 to 2020
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 32/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 36/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 44/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 18/100.

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

People named in this filing

  • Benjamin Baenen (President and CEO)
  • Heather Axen (Chairperson)
  • Stacey Oliver-Knappe (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. Selected filing: tax year 2020.