Durango Dharma Center

Legal name: Durango Sangha

Overview

Mission

Rooted in the living transmission of Theravada Buddhism, the purpose of the Durango Dharma Center is personal and collective liberation. We practice together to cultivate awakened minds and compassionate hearts. Building a culture of generosity and responsiveness, we aspire to cultivate the seeds of awakening for all beings.

What it reported doing in 2024

During 2024 the Durango Dharma Center continued its Monday night meditation gatherings online and in person. The Center also provided a wide array of in person programs for community members including daylong retreats, a camping retreat, beginning and experienced student enrichment classes and facilitated Kalyana Mitta and peer meet up groups. Senior teachers within the Theravadan tradition joined us throughout the year for various offerings.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 80% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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
841390629
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Official website data refreshed
Jun 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Durango, CO, USA
Phone
719-359-4580
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Buddhism
Affiliation
Buddhism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$194,469
Expenses
$215,310
Assets
$1,241,841
Liabilities
$13,556

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

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 65
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.5%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 81.7%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.52 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th 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: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -10.7%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.77; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 26.8%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -19.5% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.1% per year; rating input score 0; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 90.5% of revenue deployed · 81.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 10 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $176K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $43K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 9 annual filings from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 22/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 45/100.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Yong Oh (Director, Dharma Teacher): $42,667 total reported compensation
  • Kate Siber (Director, Dharma Leader): $15,067 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024.