Buddhist Global Relief

Legal name: Buddhist Global Relief a Nj Nonprofit Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
262852923
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Carmel, NY, USA
Phone
1-888-852-7579 (MESSAGE ONLY)
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Relief
Affiliation
Buddhism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,896,521
Expenses
$1,891,927
Assets
$2,656,449
Liabilities
$25,096

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • VEN BHIKKHU BODHI (President)
  • W DAVID BRAUGHTON (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • KIM BEHAN (EXECUTIVE DIREC): $45,000 total reported compensation
  • PATRICIA PRICE (DEPUTY DIRECTOR): $25,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Buddhist Global Relief’s mission includes providing food assistance to people afflicted by hunger and malnutrition, helping develop better long-term solutions through education and sustainable agriculture, and supporting people afflicted by poverty and chronic hunger worldwide. As a Buddhist organization, BGR is inspired and guided by the teachings of Buddhism. Among the teachings central to our mission are: We should extend a mind of loving-kindness towards the entire world and regard each person as a member of our own family. For this reason, just as we would not want our parents, children, or other close relatives to suffer, we similarly feel moved to alleviate the suffering of countless unknown, unseen people throughout the world. All life on this planet is interconnected and interdependent. In particular, the current high standard of living in the West was largely founded on the...

What it reported doing in 2024

Buddhist global relief has made additional smaller grants to partner organizations in various countries worldwide for: (1) emergency relief for communities suffering from natural disasters, (2) programs to promote economic and social empowerment of women through access to vocational training and sustainable livelihoods, (3) assistance to organizations providing meals and nutritional education to the homeless and poor, (4) community farm development with instruction on sustainable and ecological farming methods to provide increased yields and self-empowerment, and (5) childrens education.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 94% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 97% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 68
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 48
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.3%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 93.1%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: $18.55 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Pass
    • Conducts field audits: Limited
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Limited
    • Requires grant agreements: Limited
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 43.4%; rating input score 43; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.2%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.4; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.7%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.7% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.5% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 29.1% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 93.3% of revenue deployed · 93.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $45K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 26 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and grants
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 27 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 25 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 43/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 56/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 54/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.