Kams Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
510172747
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Honolulu, HI, USA
Phone
8085950388
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$108,326
Expenses
$36,264
Assets
$1,167,289
Liabilities
$7,705

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

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Wendy Mow (President)
  • Lynette Kam (Vice President)
  • Lisa Kam (Vice President)
  • Jocelyne Chun (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • Wendy Mow (President)
  • Lynette Kam (Vice President)
  • Lisa Kam (Vice President)

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

Benevolent, Charitable, Eleemosynary, Non-Profit Organization (Persons with the last name Kam), Help to perpetuate the Chinese culture and assist members in times of need (illness and funerals).

What it reported doing in 2025

Meetings and events - cost of Board meetings, general membership meetings, annual spring banquet, Christmas party. Also includes the cost of Chinese cultural programs such as night in Chinatown Parade and Dragon Boat races.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 65% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 79% for direct work, and 21% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 48
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 86
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 39.2%; rating input score 39
  • Program expense ratio: 80.2%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 66.5%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 32.19; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.7% per year; rating input score 0; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 39.2% of revenue deployed · 80.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $29K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 20 people listed
  • Consistency: 18 of 18 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 39/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.