Dhammadharini
Overview
Mission
This corporation is a religious corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the nonprofit religious corporation law exclusively for religious purposes. The specific purpose of this corporation is to foster and promote the teachings of the buddha in order to follow the way of the dhamma in accordance with the pali canon and to support the understanding and teaching of this wisdom by establishing in accordance with the principles of the vinaya, a residential community of fully ordained buddhist monastic women (bhikkhunis) who have undertaken the rules of training.
What it reported doing in 2025
Worldwide religious relationships, ceremonies, and monastic outreach - dhammadharini supports worldwide religious relationships and monastic outreach within the international bhikkhuni sangha. Activities under this program include participation in and hosting of religious ceremonies and commemorative events, both in person and online; support for bhikkhunis and monastic communities internationally; hosting visiting monastics; and participation in pilgrimages, conferences, and other religious gatherings. During the year, this work included activities related to initiatives such as the cambodian bhikkhuni sangha initiative, the indian bhikkhuni support project (including patimokkha printing and the footsteps of mahapajapati pilgrimage to nepal and india), and dhammacari espanol, including related activities such as theravada cuba. Program activities also included hosting visits from international members of our bhikkhunis' community, participattion sakyadhita international conference in malaysia, and commemorative religious events marking the organization's twentieth anniversary. These efforts foster connection, continuity of lineage, and mutual support among buddhist monastics across different countries. Program expenses primarily relate to travel, accommodations, event-related costs, and direct support of religious activities.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The nonprofit carried out 89% of its reported program work directly.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 371518402
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2013–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Headquarters
- Penngrove, CA, USA
- Rating
- 70
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Buddhism
- Affiliation
- Buddhism
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 75
- Transparency & Controls: 58
- Accountability: 70
- Sustainability: 63
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 70%; rating input score 70
- Program expense ratio: 83.9%; rating input score 84
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 0%; rating input score 0; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
- Public monitoring controls: Limited
- Public policy transparency: Limited
- Public financial transparency: Limited
- Impact reporting controls: Limited
- Public relationship transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
- Public governance controls: Limited
- Zakat policy transparency: Limited
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 16.6%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Operating reserve ratio: 4.38; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 7.4% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 70% of revenue deployed · 83.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $236K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
- Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
- Filing history: 12 annual filings from 2013 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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.