Zoroastrian Return To Roots
Legal name: Zoroastrian Return to Roots Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 921847712
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2023–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990-EZ 2024
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY, USA
- Phone
- 9175483747
- Rating
- 86
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Religion Related N.E.C.
- Affiliation
- Religious (unspecified)
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $9,790
- Expenses
- $32,225
- Assets
- $22,548
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
4 people listed
People named in this filing
- Aban Rustomji (Secretary)
- Aban Marker-Kabraji (Chair Of The Board)
- Rosheen Kabraji (Treasurer)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Established in 2012, Return to Roots is a youth-initiated program designed to strengthen Zoroastrian community identity among Zoroastrian youth around the world through a two-week trip in India that helps address disconnect between diaspora Zoroastrians and ancestral communities, alongside educational and community-service oriented activities.
What it reported doing in 2024
Program Service Accomplishments: Cultural Immersion Trips: Organized multiple cultural immersion trips to India and Iran, providing participants with firsthand experiences of Zoroastrian historical sites, temples, and traditional practices. These trips facilitated a deeper understanding and appreciation of Zoroastrian heritage among the youth. Educational Workshops and Seminars: Conducted a series of educational workshops and seminars on Zoroastrian history, theology, and contemporary issues. These events featured renowned scholars and community leaders, offering participants valuable insights and knowledge about their faith and culture. Community Building Initiatives: Facilitated community-building activities that fostered strong connections among participants. These initiatives included group discussions, cultural performances, and collaborative projects, helping to create a supportive and engaged network of young Zoroastrians. Mentorship Program: Established a mentorship program pairing young Zoroastrians with experienced community members. This program provided guidance, support, and opportunities for personal and professional growth, encouraging participants to take active roles in their local Zoroastrian communities. Preservation and Promotion of Zoroastrian Traditions: Launched projects aimed at preserving and promoting Zoroastrian traditions, such as documenting oral histories, creating digital archives of cultural artifacts, and producing educational materials. These efforts ensured that Zoroastrian heritage is accessible to future generations. Interfaith and Cross-Cultural Dialogue: Engaged in interfaith and cross-cultural dialogue by participating in and hosting events that promote understanding and cooperation between Zoroastrians and other religious and cultural communities. These activities helped raise awareness about Zoroastrianism and fostered mutual respect and collaboration. Volunteer and Leadership Development: Encouraged volunteerism and leadership development by involving participants in planning and organizing program activities. This hands-on experience equipped young Zoroastrians with essential skills and inspired them to take on leadership roles within their communities.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 90% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and revenue has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 100
- Transparency & Controls: 82
- Sustainability: 27
- Growth: 40
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -229.2%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.7; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 200% per year; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -128.5% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -66.4% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $32K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
- Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
- Schedules: 2 filed schedules
- Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
- 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 37/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.