SANTA CRUZ ZEN CENTER Charity Report

Public IRS 990 nonprofit record

SANTA CRUZ ZEN CENTER

EIN 51-0163461 · Religion-Related (X)

What they do

THE PURPOSE of SANTA CRUZ ZEN CENTER is to EMBODY and COMMUNICATE THE TEACHINGS of BUDDHA. OUR UNDERSTANDING of THE NON-DUALITY of WISDOM, PRACTICE, and REALIZATION HAS BEEN CONVEYED THROUGH THE SOTO SCHOOL. THE CENTERS FOCUS is ON INTEGRATING ZEN PRACTICE and EVERYDAY LIFE.

Before you give

Should I give to this charity?

Easy charity check

Look at where the money went

Of every $100 spent, about $35.30 was reported for mission work. Use the spending picture below and ask what results that work produced.

Plain answer: A tax form cannot prove that a charity is doing good. It can show how the charity says it spent its money—and point out questions you should ask.

Basic facts we verified

IRS warning checkNo IRS revocation warning appears in this data.

Money report from 2025The charity has a recent tax report to read.

They explain their jobThe charity tells us what it is trying to do.

They name their leaders10 people are listed in the latest report.

You can reach themThey list contact information, so you can ask questions.

Money made simple

24.84%of revenue went to mission work35.3% of expenses · Program services

1.66%of revenue went to fundraising2.4% of expenses

$70.32spent for every $100 of revenueRevenue covered expenses this year.

43.82%of revenue went to management and office costs62.3% of expenses

$12.00in assets for every $1 spent this yearSome assets cannot be spent right away.

30.2%of its money came from giftsOther money may come from services or investments.

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Money

Financial picture

Tax year 2025

A plain-language look at the latest Form 990 figures available. These numbers help you ask better questions; they do not, by themselves, rate whether a charity is good or bad.

$100revenue

How each $100 of revenue was used

The large number compares each expense with revenue. The smaller number shows its share of total expenses.

Total reported revenue$162,309

Mission workProgram services$40,32224.84% of revenue35.3% of expenses

ManagementOffice and general costs$71,11643.82% of revenue62.3% of expenses

FundraisingAsking for donations$2,6951.66% of revenue2.4% of expenses

Revenue left after expensesReported annual surplus$48,17629.68% of revenueShown in gray on the chart

Total expenses$114,13370.32% of revenue

Gray means reported revenue left after expenses for this filing year. It does not necessarily mean cash sitting in a bank account.

Has the pattern changed?

Colored bars = expense mix: how each year’s expenses were divided. Total expenses vs. revenue shows whether the charity spent less or more than it received. The current filing is first.

YearExpense mixDetails

2025CurrentExpense mix: 35.3% mission · 62.3% management · 2.4% fundraisingTotal expenses: 70.32% of revenue

2024Expense mix: 34.1% mission · 64.3% management · 1.6% fundraisingTotal expenses: 88.63% of revenue

2023Expense mix: 39.0% mission · 58.8% management · 2.2% fundraisingTotal expenses: 105.84% of revenue

2022Expense mix: 40.2% mission · 57.8% management · 2.0% fundraisingTotal expenses: 114.44% of revenue

2021Expense mix: 31.8% mission · 67.5% management · 0.7% fundraisingTotal expenses: 63.70% of revenue

2020Expense mix: 43.1% mission · 56.1% management · 0.8% fundraisingTotal expenses: 112.99% of revenue

2019Expense mix: 50.8% mission · 48.8% management · 0.4% fundraisingTotal expenses: 73.26% of revenue

2018Expense mix: 47.8% mission · 51.9% management · 0.2% fundraisingTotal expenses: 88.58% of revenue

Money in and money out

Revenue$162,309

Expenses$114,133

Annual surplus $48,176 Revenue was higher than expenses for this filing year.

Reported spending amounts

Mission work means the Form 990 category called program services. These are reported accounting categories—not an independent measurement of results.

Mission work (program services)$40,322 · 35.3% of expenses

Management and office costs$71,116 · 62.3% of expenses

Fundraising$2,695 · 2.4% of expenses

See all reported dollar amounts

Revenue$162,309

Expenses$114,133

Assets$1,369,668

Income$162,309

Contributions$49,077

Mission work (program services)$40,322

Fundraising$2,695

Management and general$71,116

Stocks and bonds$703,250

Investing fees$8,118

People

Leadership and board

Tax year 2025

Names, titles, time, and compensation below are reported by the organization on its Form 990.

No compensation was reported for these leaders. The complete board and leadership roster is shown below.

Board and leadership roster (10)

ANITA MARIE ELLIOTTVICE-PRESIDE

CHRISTINE MAREZDIRECTOR

JANE ARNYDIRECTOR

LISA NOBLETREASURER

MAX SWANGERPRESIDENT

MICHAEL KAPLANDIRECTOR

MIKE MCINTOSHDIRECTOR

SANDRA MCCANNSECRETARY

SARA MCLELLANDIRECTOR

SHAKTI BELLDIRECTOR

About this charity

Recognized since: January 1975
Location: 113 SCHOOL ST, SANTA CRUZ, CA 95060-3725
County: Santa Cruz
In care of: LISA NOBLE
Primary officer: LISA NOBLE, TREASURER

How to reach them

WebsiteVisit the charity’s website Emailcontact@sczc.org Phone(831) 457-0206

Filing and classification

Latest tax year: 2025
Tax period began: January 1, 2025
Return type: 990
Tax preparer: ROGERS & CO
NTEE classification: Religion-Related (X)
IRS tax category: Religion-Related