Samye Memorial Intl Buddhism Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
770576772
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Sunnyvale, CA, USA
Phone
4087378988
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support
Affiliation
Buddhism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,060,107
Expenses
$812,588
Assets
$1,680,411
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CHYONG-JI WANG (CEO)

People named in this filing

  • JESSICA Y WANG (CFO)
  • TIEN-WEI JEN (Director)
  • HENG-PIN CHEN (Director)

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

Our mission is to preserve tibet's unique buddhism heritage and to facilitate an educational and cultural exchange between the us, tibet and nepal. We strive to create a global network to promulgate buddha's dharma to the general public as well as to establish a resource integration platform that supports institutions and individuals engaged in the study and practice of buddha's vision of wisdom and compassion.

What it reported doing in 2025

The organization provides training and education funds for the samye memorial buddhist vihara, the samye memorial buddhist nunnery vihara, samye memorial monastery, samye memorial buddhist foundation and dudjom new treasurer association. Smibf sponsors a nine-year buddhism education program for talented aspiring youth in nepal and india. Close to 1,000 students, monks, and nuns can rely on the support system established by smibf donors for their basic needs, including food, robes, texts, medical care, and free tuition. The institution provides the necessary training for young lamas to ensure that buddhism's academic tradition continues. The organzatoin also supports the construction of dorms and classroom for the monks and nuns in nepal.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 79% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 50
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 74
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.9%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 93.5%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 0%; rating input score 0; 15th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: 23.3%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.07; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.4% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 71.9% of revenue deployed · 93.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $760K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 24 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2011 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.