The Bhavana Society Inc

Overview

Mission

Teaching the practice of buddhist meditation

What it reported doing in 2015

The bhavana society promotes the practice of buddhist meditation through the provision of facilities and instruction to the general public

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 94% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The nonprofit carried out 85% of its reported program work directly.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521272299
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2015
Forms available
Form 990 2015
Headquarters
High View, WV, USA
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Buddhism
Affiliation
Buddhism

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports that some governance safeguards are missing and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 100
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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; 64th 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: -58.7%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Operating reserve ratio: 12.17; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -47.5% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -62.7% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $106K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 2 annual filings from 2013 to 2015
  • 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.