Zen Way Foundation

Overview

Mission

Zen Way Foundation’s T.H.E.M. (The HeArt of an Entrepreneurial Mindset) program supports K-12 youth by using creative expression, financial literacy, mentorship, and student travel to cultivate self-confidence, and it aligns with the Black Student Achievement Program’s goals for successful Black student achievement.

Zen Way Foundation is a non-profit organization describing its work through multiple initiatives, including T.H.E.M. (The HeArt of an Entrepreneurial Mindset) for K-12 youth—focused on creative expression, financial literacy, mentorship, and student travel—and related programming such as an artist/writer residency intended to support T.H.E.M students, eco-sustainability volunteer/gap work, and the HeArt Center retreat for women and youth in transition.

Operating model

Revenue model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent revenue detail to tell how this foundation funds its work.
Distribution model
No current program activity. The filing reports no charitable disbursements for the current year.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
844719692
IRS 990-PF coverage
2020–2022
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2020, Form 990-PF 2022
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Phone
323-449-4011
Rating
20
Verdict
REVIEW
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other
Affiliation
Buddhism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$0
Expenses
$55,195

Source: IRS Form 990-PF. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Amounts in USD.

The verdict

REVIEW - The filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of spending goes to grants and the filing does not identify all grant recipients.

Rating breakdown

  • Grant Deployment: NotEnoughData
  • Cost Efficiency: 0
  • Transparency: 0
  • Compliance: 100
  • Endowment Health: NotEnoughData

Detailed rating inputs

Grant Deployment

  • Grant deployment ratio: Limited

Cost Efficiency

  • Grant expense ratio: 0%; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency

  • Grant recipient disclosure: Scored; rating input score 0

Compliance

  • Part VII-B activity disclosures: 19 of 19 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Property sale or exchange with a disqualified person: Pass
    • Borrowing from or lending to a disqualified person: Pass
    • Goods, services, or facilities involving a disqualified person: Pass
    • Compensation paid to a disqualified person: Pass
    • Assets transferred to a disqualified person: Pass
    • Payment to a government official: Pass
    • Uncorrected prior self-dealing: Pass
    • Prior-year undistributed income: Pass
    • Excess business holdings: Pass
    • Investments that may jeopardize charitable purposes: Pass
    • Uncorrected prior-year jeopardizing investments: Pass
    • Attempt to influence legislation: Pass
    • Attempt to influence an election: Pass
    • Grants to individuals: Pass
    • Grants to organizations: Pass
    • Spending for a noncharitable purpose: Pass
    • Funds received for a personal-benefit contract: Pass
    • Premiums paid on a personal-benefit contract: Pass
    • Prohibited tax-shelter transaction: Pass
  • Filing consistency checks: 8; rating input score 100

Endowment Health

  • Endowment-health comparison: Limited

Details

  • What they fund: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Payout: Filed payout detail
  • Trustees: Filed trustees detail
  • Self-dealing: 100% of reviewed questions answered “No”
  • Investments: Filed investments detail
  • Consistency: 8 of 8 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 1 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 3 annual filings from 2020 to 2022
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Cost Efficiency: Grant expense ratio scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency: Grant recipient disclosure scored 0/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.