Sakya Tsechen Association Inc

Overview

Mission

To promote Tibetan Buddhist religion, education, language and culture.

What it reported doing in 2024

Buddhists Teachings & Prayers Services Members of this Association are first generation Tibetan immigrants and are mostly Buddhists traditionally. Teachings and seminars are organized throughout the year to provide continuous buddhist learning. The teachings are given by monks of the Sakya Order, which is one of the four major Tibetan Buddhist Traditions that dated back in 1073AD, and are supervised by Sakya Trizin the present head of the Sakya Order. The Association also provide various religious services on request. These religious ceremonies are deeply ingrained in the Tibetan tradition. The observances are conducted by, and in conjunction with, Tsechen Kunchab Ling, the affiliate main monastery in Walden, NY, Palden Sakya Center and Vikramasila Foundation in New York City. These seminars and religious ceremonies were attended by about 4000 people during the year and open free to the public. There are about 450 volunteers who help to carry the functions of these events.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 98% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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
464079608
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Woodside, NY, USA
Phone
3473022822
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Buddhism
Affiliation
Buddhism

Reported finances

Revenue
$130,580
Expenses
$118,408
Assets
$1,663,726
Liabilities
$18,992

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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Accountability: 58
  • Sustainability: 68
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85.3%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 94.4%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 13th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 0 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • 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: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 9.3%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 14.05; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.2% per year; rating input score 0; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.2% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 85.3% of revenue deployed · 94.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 0 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $112K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 5 annual filings from 2014 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 59/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

People named in this filing

  • Yeshi GYALTSEN (President)
  • Ngawang DHARGAY (Vice President)
  • Jigme DORJE (Secretary)

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.