Pacific Buddhist Academy

Overview

Mission

To prepare students for college through academic excellence; to enrich their lives with Buddhist values; and to develop their courage to nurture peace. Statement To prepare students for college through academic excellence; to enrich their lives with Buddhist values;. Pba's support for families who qualify for tuition assistance Pacific Buddhist Academy commits to enrolling a student body that reflects the socioeconomic, linguistic, cultural and learning style diversity of Hawai‘i. Indeed, PBA's project of peace would not be possible without a diverse community, as our young people need to learn to negotiate differences to practice peace. We understand the significant financial resources families devote to send their children to PBA, and we are grateful that families support their children's learning at PBA. Each year, we devote significant funds to need-based tuition assistance and...

What it reported doing in 2024

Pacific buddhist academy (pba) is an hais- and wasc-accredited non-profit independent school whose mission is to prepare students for college through academic excellence; to enrich their lives with buddhist values; and to develop their courage to nurture peace. Program offerings include leadership development through community engagement and internships, mixed grade-level advisories, exchange programs with sister schools in japan, fine and performing arts with emphasis on japanese cultural arts like sado and taiko, and interscholastic clubs and sports in the ilh and pac-five. Pba currently serves 65 students of diverse backgrounds, including international and neurodivergent learners. Pba is in its 23rd academic year and has had over 300 graduates accepted to colleges throughout the u.s., europe, and japan.

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
043660909
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Official website data refreshed
Aug 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Honolulu, HI, USA
Phone
(808) 532-2649
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Secondary, High School
Affiliation
Buddhism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,910,930
Expenses
$2,151,025
Assets
$10,857,435
Liabilities
$182,024

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 49
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 78
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 45.4%; rating input score 45
  • Program expense ratio: 65.8%; rating input score 66
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.71 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

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

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 26.1%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.05; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.2% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 45.4% of revenue deployed · 65.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $129K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 annual filings from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 45/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 47/100.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JOSH HERNANDEZ MORSE (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $128,610 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024.