Santa Cruz Zen Center

Overview

Mission

The purpose of santa cruz zen center is to embody and communicate the teachings of buddha. Our understanding of the non-duality of wisdom, practice, and realization has been conveyed through the soto school. The center's focus is on integrating zen practice and everyday life.

What it reported doing in 2025

Twice daily meditation services offered free. Weekly meditation program and lectures offered free. Introduction classes and instruction.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The nonprofit carried out 98% of its reported program work directly.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
510163461
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Headquarters
Santa Cruz, CA, USA
Rating
62
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Affiliation
Buddhism

Official website

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 a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 32
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 64
  • Sustainability: 77
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 27.1%; rating input score 27
  • Program expense ratio: 35.3%; rating input score 35
  • Fundraising efficiency: $18.21 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • 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: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
  • Public governance controls: Limited
  • Zakat policy transparency: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 29.7%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Operating reserve ratio: 12; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 27.1% of revenue deployed · 35.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $40K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 12 annual filings from 2014 to 2025
  • 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.