White Forest Sangha

Legal name: White Forest Sangha Inc

Overview

Mission

A 501c3 charitable organization dedicated to the practice of Zen Buddhism in an urban lay environment. Your Support is Appreciated White Forest Sangha is a 501C(3) nonprofit organization providing Zen Buddhist meditation instruction, liturgical practice, scriptural study, and sangha fellowship to all. We are a Zen Buddhist community, organizing our practice around the needs of a lay sangha. We are committed to the exploration and development of authentic and legitimate Zen Buddhist practice outside of the traditional monastic model. Zen seeks to promote a peaceful community, country, and world through fostering a peaceful disposition in each individual. Tax ID 83-2602090.

What it reported doing in 2024

The organization provides weekly meditation instruction, zen buddhist teachings, and liturgy services at least twice weekly. These programs are available in person as well as online. The primary expense incurred is monthly rent. The organization relies entirely on non-paid volunteers to deliver programs and to maintain physical space and materials. Board members are unpaid volunteers, but may be compensated for services outside their position on the board.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 71% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
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
832602090
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Denver, CO, United States
Phone
419 | 806 | 9927
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Buddhism
Affiliation
Buddhism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$87,213
Expenses
$25,378
Assets
$528,790
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

The verdict

STRONG - 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 revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 83
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.9%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 82%; rating input score 82
  • 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: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 70.9%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 20.84; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 23.6% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -10% per year; rating input score 0; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 93.9% of revenue deployed · 82% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $21K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 16 of 16 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 annual filings from 2020 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

People named in this filing

  • JEFFREY KEITH (PRESIDENT)
  • DAVID USERY (PRESIDENT ELECT)
  • ADAM SZYMANSKI-BURGOS (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.