PLATINUM2024

KUNZANG ODSAL PALYUL CHANGCHUB

aka Kunzang Palyul Choling or KPC   |   Poolesville, MD   |  https://www.tara.org

Mission

Kunzang Odsal Palyul Changchub Choling (KPC) was founded by Jetsunma Ahkon Norbu Lhamo to uphold the Palyul lineage within the Nyingma tradition of Vajrayana Buddhism. The KPC mission is to to alleviate suffering through compassionate activity in the world by: making Buddhist teachings available, offering a place of spiritual refuge including sites of pilgrimage and prayer, offering prayers and spiritual practices to those in need, nurturing the community beyond our boundaries, caring for animals, and caretaking the natural environment under our custodianship.

Ruling year info

1987

Principal Officer

Jetsunma Ahkon Norbu Lhamo

Main address

PO Box 88

Poolesville, MD 20837 USA

Show more contact info

Formerly known as

The Centers for Discovery and New Life

EIN

52-1501476

NTEE code info

Buddhist (X50)

Wildlife Sanctuary/Refuge (D34)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is not required to file an annual return with the IRS because it is a church.

Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Kunzang Palyul Choling aims to alleviate suffering through compassionate activity in the world. Located in one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse counties in the United States, we offer a place of spiritual refuge, pilgrimage, and prayer, as well as Buddhist teachings from the Palyul lineage. We nurture the community beyond our boundaries through KPC Buddhist Relief, working with partner organizations to enhance and amplify their reach in combating food insecurity and meeting the needs of underserved populations and immigrants; and by caretaking the natural environment under our custodianship. KPC is located on acreage originally occupied by the Piscataway people, who are the ancestral stewards of this sacred land.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Religious - Vajrayana Buddhism

Provide place of practice for Palyul Nyingma Buddhist education and practice in Poolesville, Maryland. KPC facilities include a temple that provides classes in meditation, regularly scheduled public ritual practices, empowerment, and teachings on Buddhist logic, a 65-acre public park with walking trails, statues, stupas and meditation gardens. Open dawn to dusk.

Population(s) Served
Buddhists
Interfaith groups
Secular groups
Heterosexuals
LGBTQ people

Buddhist Relief is the humanitarian arm of Kunzang Palyul Choling. In 2005, Buddhist Relief mobilized in response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina by providing food, clothing and emotional support, and rescued more than 120 dogs and cats that had been abandoned in New Orleans, and arranging an airlift to a sanctuary provided by KPC in Arizona.

Since then, Buddhist Relief has responded to the needs of those in crisis by providing meals for the hungry, clothing and personal hygiene supplies, and other things needed by people who are displaced due to natural disasters, economic displacement, or war and strife abroad. We extend our reach by helping our partner organizations extend theirs. Our efforts are fueled by the commitment to end suffering, which is the mission statement of Kunzang Palyul Choling, and to being a compassionate presence to victims of circumstance.

To maximize outcomes of its efforts, KPC partners with other nonprofit organizations, businesses and individuals.

Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Immigrants and migrants
Victims and oppressed people

In January 2021, KPC Buddhist Temple began its Buddhist Giving Garden to combat rising food insecurity. The goal of the garden is to grow food to share and to teach others to do so - "empowering people through food gardening." The Garden converted 2,400 square feet of lawn to create what is now a flourishing demonstration and production food garden. Since May 2021, volunteers have been delivering a steady stream of nutritious produce to food banks and shelters across the county. Additionally, they’ve offered
vegetable starter plants and education workdays so people can learn to grow their own food.

Population(s) Served
Families
At-risk youth
Extremely poor people
Low-income people
Working poor

Where we work

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of overall donors

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Buddhists, Interfaith groups, Secular groups, Heterosexuals, LGBTQ people

Type of Metric

Other - describing something else

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

These numbers reflect known donors. Number of anonymous cash donors is unknown.

Number of Facebook followers

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Buddhists, Interfaith groups, Heterosexuals, LGBTQ people, Secular groups

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Total dollars received in contributions

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Other - describing something else

Direction of Success

Increasing

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Our goal is to alleviate suffering in the world. We provide a place for people to request prayers, pray, and meditate, as well as participate in traditional Buddhist pujas or practices. Through our charitable arm, KPC Buddhist Relief, we partner with several organizations to maximize our impact on food insecurity. KPC Buddhist Relief provides specific items and foodstuffs to each organization's targeted demographics, thereby extending our reach. We donate 20% of the eggs collected from our hens to our partners. Through our Buddhist Giving Garden, 100% of all of the usable produce grown there is donated to our partner organizations.

We have a dedicated volunteer and donor base that have allowed us to accomplish many projects and initiatives over the past four decades. Volunteers who take 2-hour shifts ensure that the 24-hour prayer vigil begun in 1985 has remained unbroken. Other volunteers maintain the website, broadcasts, social media, and archives to make sure Buddhist prayers and teachings are available online and via podcasts, as well as in printed material. Because of our donors and volunteers, we are able to provide over two thousand pounds of food weekly to our partner organizations, giving over 1500 families per week additional sustenance items not often found at food banks and food pantries.

Kunzang Palyul Choling has been serving this community since 2005, and KPC Buddhist Relief (KPC-BR) since 2005. In addition to the unbroken 24 hour prayer vigil and teachings from the Palyul lineage that provide spiritual sustenance, through KPC-BR we have developed strong programs with our partner organizations that provide effective results. We have a capable and passionate group of Board members and an Operations Team that understands the needs of those we serve. We also receive support from our larger community through their financial or in-kind contributions, or gifts of time in the form of volunteer support. Although focused in the Washington DC suburb of Montgomery County, Maryland, our reach extends around the world, and we work ceaselessly to continue to benefit beings with tangible and spiritual support.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback

Financials

KUNZANG ODSAL PALYUL CHANGCHUB
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

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KUNZANG ODSAL PALYUL CHANGCHUB

Board of directors
as of 06/10/2024
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Claire Waggoner

Claire Waggoner

David Williams

Holly Christofferson

Claire Seesman

John Darrin

Alyce Louise Bertsche

Christine Lennard

Sonja Peter

Tara Middleton

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 4/22/2024
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Gender identity
Female

Race & ethnicity

No data

Gender identity

Transgender Identity

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data