Yogananda Seva

Legal name: Yogananda Seva Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
842331152
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Encinitas, CA, USA
Phone
+1 (760) 417-6080
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Religion Related N.E.C.
Affiliation
Religious (unspecified)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,877,064
Expenses
$4,035,930
Assets
$657,828
Liabilities
$301,982

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • NICHOLAS WENZ (HEAD DIG CAMPUS): $160,278 total reported compensation
  • VIKRANT TAWADE (TECH MANAGER): $129,359 total reported compensation
  • DAVID STEMBER (Former Co-ED): $116,682 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Yogananda Seva serves the worldwide family of SRF/YSS members; its programs include projects not formally affiliated with SRF/YSS but operating with SRF guidance and blessing. Translation and subtitling of SRF online classes, for the benefit of non-English speaking devotees around the world. Funding for the programs above comes from Self-Realization Fellowship. Therefore, the best way you can support them is to donate directly to Self-Realization Fellowship. Though the aforementioned programs are now managed by the SRF Voluntary League, Yogananda Seva continues to plan and coordinate a variety of projects and initiatives that benefit SRF/YSS members, but which are not directly managed by or officially connected with Self-Realization Fellowship or Yogoda Satsanga Society of India. For example:.

What it reported doing in 2024

SRF SupportYogananda Seva supports several SRF departments and programs as follows: Several volunteer programs provide services to the worldwide SRF membership, as well as supporting SRF internal departments and work areas. These include an international help desk; various translation services; a youth services department; a volunteer portal; volunteer recruiting and support; a research team; a survey, testing, and focus group team; a team which provides support for SRF Centers, Temples, and Tours Departments; communications and outreach support; an elder forum for devotees aged 50+; a young adult sangha for devotees aged 18-39 who share aninterest in the teachings and meditation practices of Paramahansa Yogananda; and development of pilot programs that provide services to the worldwide SRF spiritual family.Yogananda Seva supports SRF in managing a website, enrollment process, and classes and programs for their Voluntary League of Disciples (VLD) program. The VLD provides an opportunity for devotees to take a pledge to structure their lives around the plan of spiritual life set forth by Paramahansa Yogananda, and to give freely of their time and resources to advance his spiritual mission for the upliftment of humanity.The Online Meditation Center allows all devotees, regardless of their location or circumstance, to have the opportunity to join in spiritual fellowship with other truth-seeking souls for group meditation and spiritual study.YSS is SRFs sister organization in India. Online Dhyana Kendra offers online group meditations and special events in India Standard Time. It is available to all devotees worldwide.Other services provided to SRF include: advisory services for Office of the President special projects and for the Strategic Planning Group; technology consulting services; support for special events such as the annual Convocation, retreats held throughout the year, and the Christmas Open House and Easter events held at the SRF International Headquarters; and advisory services and content support for the SRF Department of Philanthropic Planning.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 98% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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

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

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 46
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 17
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.5%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 90.1%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -4.1%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.16; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.46; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.9%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 31.8% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 28.5% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.4% per year; rating input score 100; 47th 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: 93.5% of revenue deployed · 90.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 3 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $3.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $160K · 6 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes foreign activity and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 22/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 4/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.