Thabarwa International Foundation

Legal name: Tabawa Mindfulness and Detachment Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
954639892
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Hacienda Heights, CA, USA
Phone
+66(0)808022874
Rating
53
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Buddhism
Affiliation
Buddhism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$366,509
Expenses
$255,171
Assets
$123,147
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • FNU OTTAMATHARA (CEO)

People named in this filing

  • AUNG LINN (Secretary)
  • FNU OTTAMATHARA (CEO)
  • ELIZABETH MARSH (CFO)

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 aim at Thabarwa Centre is to create opportunities for individuals to perform a variety of good deeds on a consistent basis. This narrative weaves together elements of personal struggle, spiritual growth, and the birth of a humanitarian mission. It emphasizes the transformative power of adversity and the importance of finding purpose in helping others. Would you like to focus on a specific aspect of your life or the foundation's work for the next iteration? The Philosophy for Thabarwa "good Deed" house. A new way of Donate and thinking Click for more information. Today, Sayadaw teaches Dhamma and Guided Vipassana Insight Meditation in various institutions, schools, hospitals and individual residences in Myanmar and other countries. Sayadaw remains a well-known name throughout the shores of Myanmar and beyond. Now Honoured.

What it reported doing in 2025

A Meditation Center practicing mindfulness, detachment, and doing good deeds without limits, in accordance with the teachings of Meditation Master Sayadaw Ashin Ottamathara, founder of the Thabarwa Meditation Centers around the world.

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 84% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

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

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 61
  • Accountability: 0
  • Sustainability: 62
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 68%; rating input score 68
  • Program expense ratio: 97.7%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Fail
    • 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: 50%; rating input score 50; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 8th 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: 30.4%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.48; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.1% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 32.9% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -30.7% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 68% of revenue deployed · 97.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 4 board members independent · 0 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $249K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 24 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and grants
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 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.

  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 8 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 24/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.