Boundless Freedom Project
Overview
Mission
Lighting a path to freedom by sharing mindfulness, ethics & compassion practices with people impacted by incarceration.
What it reported doing in 2024
Buddhist Pathways was supported by donors in 2024 continued work on grants from California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to provide services in three prisons. Inmates received benefit from the programs delivered through streaming and other methods . Prisons not funded by CDCR were served by donations and grants from foundations and donors. Buddhist Pathways is largely staffed and services are provided by volunteers and a part-time paid Executive Director and Sr. Teachers.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 79% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The nonprofit carried out 100% of its reported program work directly.
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 273086459
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2022–2024
- Website reviewed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2021, Form 990-N 2015
- Headquarters
- Sacramento, CA, USA
- Rating
- 76
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Buddhism
- Affiliation
- Buddhism
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports that some governance safeguards are missing and the website provides limited financial reporting.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 72
- Transparency & Controls: 73
- Accountability: 81
- Sustainability: 72
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 63.8%; rating input score 64
- Program expense ratio: 86.1%; rating input score 86
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
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
- 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: 0 of 5 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Impact reporting controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
- Public relationship transparency: No; rating input score 0
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
- Public governance controls: 1 of 4 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Zakat policy transparency: Limited
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 26%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Operating reserve ratio: 1.2; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 148.9% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 31.8% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 35% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 63.8% of revenue deployed · 86.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $555K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
- Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 3 annual filings from 2022 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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.