Against The Stream

Overview

Mission

Guided by the teachings of the Buddha; offers transformative, counter-instinctual practice to help people find freedom and happiness. (Exact mission statement text not found in newly crawled pages.). In 2007 he founded the Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society. In 2008 he developed and implemented a Buddhist based addiction treatment program called Refuge Recovery, which is now flourishing around the world. These days Noah is primarily engaged in teaching Dharma in classes, workshops and retreats, training new Dharma teachers and spending time with his two young children. BlackBackground_xl.jpg. BlackBackground_xl.jpg Against The Stream.

What it reported doing in 2020

The nonprofit opened a meditation center in venice, ca and led community members in meditation and guidance in buddhism.

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 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
834171718
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2020
Official website data refreshed
Jun 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2020
Location
Venice, CA, United States
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Buddhism
Affiliation
Buddhism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$144,444
Expenses
$38,274
Assets
$146,214
Liabilities
$36,900

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Amounts in USD.

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 48
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 77
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 27.5%; rating input score 27
  • 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: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 73.5%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.82; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.25; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 173.5% per year; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 182.5% per year; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 191.6% per year; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 27.5% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $38K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 2 annual filings from 2019 to 2020
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 27/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

People named in this filing

  • MONICA MORALES (DIRECTOR)
  • PATRICIA WASHKO (DIRECTOR)
  • NOAH LEVINE (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 2020.