A Skeptics Path to Enlightenment

Overview

Mission

Buddhist meditation training based on modern science & psychology

What it reported doing in 2025

Online guided meditation community & courses based on powerful buddhist analytical meditation techniques that use imagination, emotions & critical thinking to probe inner and outer reality and expand our compassion

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The nonprofit carried out 100% of its reported program work directly.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
852620559
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2021–2025
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2020
Headquarters
San Rafael, CA, USA
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Cultural, Ethnic Awareness
Affiliation
Buddhism

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 93
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: NotEnoughData
  • Sustainability: 6
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 81%; rating input score 81

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Public monitoring controls: Limited
  • Public policy transparency: Limited
  • Public financial transparency: Limited
  • Impact reporting controls: Limited
  • Public relationship transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Public governance controls: Limited
  • Zakat policy transparency: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -202.4%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Operating reserve ratio: 0.02; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.43; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 44.1%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.5% per year; rating input score 0; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -16.1% per year; rating input score 0; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -30.1% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 81% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 3 filed program accomplishments · $57K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 7 of 7 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 5 annual filings from 2021 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.