Vietnamese Buddhist Congregati Nhu Lai Thien Tu

Overview

Mission

Religious & social services

What it reported doing in 2023

Establishing & maintaining a worship place for people coming to learn

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
330447884
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
San Diego, CA, USA
Rating
51
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Affiliation
Buddhism

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,882,213
Expenses
$787,386
Assets
$6,503,244
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 27
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 18
  • Sustainability: 92
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 19.9%; rating input score 20
  • Program expense ratio: 47.5%; rating input score 47
  • 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: 0%; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 58.2%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.26; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 16.3% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.3% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.6% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 19.9% of revenue deployed · 47.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 25 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $421K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 6 annual filings from 2010 to 2023
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 20/100.
  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 47/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

People named in this filing

  • SANH VAN PHAM (PRESIDENT)
  • LONG HAP TRAN (SECRETARY)
  • THU NGUYEN (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 2023.