Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center

Overview

Mission

Dedicated to the people of Tibet, the Cultural Center provides a peaceful setting for meditation and reflection, and throughout the year offers workshops, teachings, seminars, initiations, retreats and ceremonies relating to Tibetan exile communities and Mongolians. Geshe Kunga was born in 1963 eastern part of Tibet to a nomad family. At that time in Tibet, because of the Cultural Revolution, people did not have the opportunity to learn about Buddhism. But at age 17 there was a change in Communist Party’s rules regarding the study of Buddhism. For the first time he saw Buddhist monks and developed a strong wish to be a monk. With his family’s support he went to Kumbum Monastery to study the Dharma and become a monk. There he met and studied with his Root Guru, Geshe Lobsang Damchoe, eventually taking ordination under his guidance and support. Geshe Damchoe taught him the root of...

What it reported doing in 2024

Depreciation

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
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
310970259
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Bloomington, IN, USA
Phone
+1 812-336-6807
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Cultural, Ethnic Awareness
Affiliation
Buddhism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$16
Expenses
$65,351
Assets
$1,656,212
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 64
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -408,343.8%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 25.34; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.7% per year; rating input score 0; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.9% per year; rating input score 0; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -3.5% per year; rating input score 0; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $65K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 12 of 12 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

People named in this filing

  • SHIRCHIN BAATAR (DIRECTOR)
  • CURT JONES (SECRETARY)
  • SUDHAKARA KONERU (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. Selected filing: tax year 2024.