Vien an Buddhist Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
223882768
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Silver Spring, MD, USA
Phone
2406281974
Rating
52
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Buddhism
Affiliation
Buddhism

Reported finances

Revenue
$770,002
Expenses
$141,250
Assets
$8,734,888
Liabilities
$3,762,691

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • THIEN CHAU NGUYEN (PRESIDENT)
  • LOAN T TON NU (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • THIEN CHAU NGUYEN (PRESIDENT): $6,920 total reported compensation
  • LOAN T TON NU (VICE PRESIDENT): $6,920 total reported compensation
  • PHUONG BICH NGUYEN (TREASURER): $6,920 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Vien an buddhist association is a church-affiliated organization that is exclusively engaged in the operation of buddhist temple. Its mission is to provide ritual activities including prayer services, spiritual consulting and buddhism education to the public.

What it reported doing in 2024

Luna new yearluna new year begins on the 1st day of the 1st month of the lunar calendar, and is celebrated until the 15th day of the same month. The celebration continues until april. It is a time of celebration and reunion of families and friends. It is customary for people to visit one another, wishing for health and happiness. The monastery, in particular, usually greets up to 6 tour buses of visitors as they pay respect to buddha, offer prayers to their departed relatives, and take part in the celebration of new year at the monastery. The vegetarian lunch offered to all.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 95% 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: 28
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 26
  • Sustainability: 79
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 12.3%; rating input score 12
  • Program expense ratio: 62.8%; rating input score 63
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 14.3%; rating input score 14; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 81.7%; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 61.84; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.43; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.6%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.7% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.3% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 12.3% of revenue deployed · 62.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 7 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $89K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $7K · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 12/100.
  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 18/100.