Guiding Light

Legal name: Guiding Light Academy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
461363007
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2018, Form 990-T 2025
Location
San Jose, CA, United States
Phone
4087684661
Rating
58
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Religion Related N.E.C.
Affiliation
Islam

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$557,444
Expenses
$231,747
Assets
$2,322,720
Liabilities
$166

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • TAHIR ANWAR (President)

People named in this filing

  • TAHIR ANWAR (President)
  • MUDASSAR JAMIL (Secretary)
  • FAHEEM CHIYA (Treasurer)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Guiding Light aims to provide a space where individuals are able to strengthen their bond with Allah (God) understanding & implementing the word of Allah (God) and the traditions of the final Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah (God) be upon him). In addition, Guiding Light works to strengthen the social fabric of the western Muslim community by providing a religiously inspired gathering space for Muslims of all ages and backgrounds.

What it reported doing in 2025

"allah guides to his light whom he wills" (quraan 24:35) this verse is the inspiration behind our name, guiding light. Our mission is to illuminate a path to allah (god) with the light of the holy quaran and the radiant sunnah (prophetic tradition).

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 73% 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.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 57
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 0
  • Sustainability: 89
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 41.6%; rating input score 42
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 15th 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: 0%; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 0 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 58.4%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 10.02; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.2% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 17.9% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 25.6% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 41.6% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 6 board members independent · 0 of 7 filing controls reported · 0 of 6 affiliation controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $232K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 25 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 42/100.
  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.