Heartwood Mandala

Legal name: Heartwood Refuge

Overview

Mission

We are a community of lay and monastic practitioners with the shared aim of learning the true BuddhaDharma.

What it reported doing in 2021

Conduct training retreats in various cities, also trained and graduated religious leaders.

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 99% 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
820983637
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2021
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2021
Location
Hendersonville, NC, USA
Phone
828-356-5568
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Buddhism
Affiliation
Buddhism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$369,832
Expenses
$631,561
Assets
$2,096,945
Liabilities
$2,163,088

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2021. Amounts in USD.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 18
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 60

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; 63rd 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: 0%; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -70.8%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.32; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.03; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 23.8% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -10.6% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 3 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $632K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 4 annual filings from 2018 to 2021
  • 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.

  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

People named in this filing

  • MAUREEN HALL (BOARD MEMBER)
  • VEN PANNAVATI (PRESIDENT)
  • VEN PANNADIPA (VICE PRESIDENT)

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 2021.