Tzu Chi Medical Foundation
Legal name: Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation
Overview
Mission
We provide patient-centered medical care with compassion to underprivileged individuals regardless of religion, age, gender, ethnicity or ability to pay. In Chinese, “tzu” means compassion and “chi” means relief—the very things that Dharma Master Cheng Yen sought to offer the impoverished in her native Taiwan. She founded Tzu Chi in 1966 along with five disciples, and after spending six years among the Taiwan’s poor, the young Master saw how prevalently illness caused a family’s fall into poverty. Determined to relieve their suffering, Tzu Chi began providing medical care to the poor. _In Chinese, “tzu” means compassion, and “chi” means relief._ Since then, the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation has evolved its care into an international medical mission. We operate six hospitals in Taiwan, manage the world’s fifth largest bone marrow bank, and admin.
What it reported doing in 2024
The organization is dedicated to providing health care services through its three clinic locations in los angeles county and twelve mobile clinics in various locations in the united states. The organization provides holistic and integrated healthcare services to financially disadvantaged residents across the united states. Their goal is to provide compassionate and comprehensive health care to all individuals, regardless of socioeconomic status.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 71% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 954457939
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- El Monte, CA, USA
- Phone
- 6268669816
- Rating
- 76
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- International Development
- Affiliation
- Buddhism
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $6,924,673
- Expenses
- $6,767,309
- Assets
- $8,223,624
- Liabilities
- $949,059
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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 70
- Transparency & Controls: 71
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 42
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 77.6%; rating input score 78
- Program expense ratio: 79.1%; rating input score 79
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- 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: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 2.3%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.22; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 13.4%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 3 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 77.6% of revenue deployed · 79.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $180K · 17 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 12 annual filings from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 42/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 44/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.
Leadership & pay
17 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- CAROL LIU (DENTAL DIRECTOR): $179,906 total reported compensation
- STEPHEN DENQ (CEO/CMO): $168,002 total reported compensation
- SOE MIN HTET (DENTIST): $151,063 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024.