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Dharmadatta Community

EIN 85-3167871 · Peekskill, NY

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthStrong93 out of 100GovernanceWeak44 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

A Buddhist organization providing spiritual retreats courses pastoral care and religious instruction in Spanish online and residentially.

Income
$416,475
Spending
$171,467
Spent on programs
76%
Reserves
11.1 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 94%
Employees
2
Volunteers
200
Highest pay
$50,698, president

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Strong: 93 out of 100. Higher than 78% of charities in its peer group (religion, $250k to $1m).

  • Reserves

    28 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 11.1 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 0% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 59% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 115% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    76% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Weak: 44 out of 100. Higher than 25% of charities in its peer group (religion, $250k to $1m).

  • Independent board

    18 of 25

    3 of 4 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    0 of 15

    Reports no written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    0 of 8

    Reports no written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    0 of 7

    Reports no written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    0 of 10

    Did not give the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • Independent check of accounts

    6 of 15

    Its accounts were not audited or reviewed by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Impact evidence

Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.

Programs described in its return (3)
  1. $60,120 spent. Dharmadattas largest program service area of our community in 2025 aims to provide religious services to our lay congregation primarily through online programming that is offered entirely free of charge. All our religious services are conducted entirely in Spanish with liturgical services group prayer meditation and religious instruction. We provide theological training religious instruction and prayer services via Instituto Budadharma institutobudadharma.org and our Online Meditation Hall at budismoenlinea.ning.com Salas de meditacion Dharmadatta. Instituto Budadharma served 500-700 students every trimester in 2025 who took facilitated not self-paced online courses ranging from six weeks to six months long. During 2025 1,381 congregants took our online courses. To support this we trained 13 new facilitators in 2025 bringing our team to 49 facilitators to allow us to grow in 2026. Instituto Budadharma also offers a rigorous seven-year religious study program with 500 members currently enrolled and nearly 100 graduates. In 2025 we graduated our third cohort to complete the full seven-year certification. Our online meditation halls serve a congregation of over 35,000 members. In 2025 we held 232 group prayer and or meditation sessions. Throughout the year we offered live guided 21-day meditation courses with 500 members meeting the commitment to join daily. Dharmadatta teachers travelled in 2025 to lead retreats workshops and provide pastoral care to congregants during a two-month teaching tour. Our Ecosangha Dharmadatta project continues to bring together 50 people monthly to deepen our ecological commitment as a spiritual practice.
  2. $41,978 spent. An important new accomplishment in this area is the creation of a project to develop a three-year program to train advanced students to guide meditation to support our ongoing programming and as a preliminary step in training of future pastoral teachers.
  3. $27,721 spent. We continued to offer residential monastic training to a Buddhist nun including over a month of intensive instruction in the Buddhist monastic code.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.

    Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  2. Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.

    Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.

    Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated November 6, 2026.

  3. Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.

    On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

    Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Worth knowing.

    The IRS does not require this organization to file annual returns.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since May 2021.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.

    Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.

    Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated November 4, 2026.

Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.