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On the Corporate Governance of the SGI-USA

Thank you very much for your interest in SGI-USA. Below is a report on SGI-USA's corporate status and how your contributions are being used to further advance American kosen-rufu.

1. OVERVIEW

SGI-USA is an independent, religious nonprofit organization and was established in California under that state's Nonprofit Religious Corporation Law. As an exempt church organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, all of SGI-USA's assets are irrevocably dedicated to its religious purposes and all contributions are fully tax-deductible to the contributor to the extent allowed by law.

2. YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS AND HOW THEY ARE USED

Contributions received from members and friends are vital to support SGI-USA’s kosen-rufu activities. They allow us to operate and staff our current community centers and to open or renovate new castles of kosen-rufu across the country, while setting aside a portion of these funds to invest for the future. In the past few years, your contributions have enabled us to further build and strengthen our SGI-USA network for peace, provide improved services and support to our members and helped us to make new friends in community centers across the United States. For more information on exciting developments that contributions have helped to make possible, please click on How Your Contributions are Making a Difference.

The vast majority of SGI-USA’s revenue comes from members, direct contributions. All contributions – whether received through our May Commemorative Contribution activity, sustaining contribution or in any other circumstances – are similarly used to support the faith and practice of SGI-USA members. [See FAQ for more details about differences between the May Contribution activity and Sustaining Contribution program]. We also use these contributions to promote the spread of Nichiren Buddhism and the SGI’s philosophy of contributing to peace, culture and education, based on Buddhist humanism.

3. OTHER INCOME SOURCES

Some other important sources of income for SGI-USA include:

• Subscriptions to our periodicals—World Tribune/Living Buddhism—and others.
  
  In general, we try to price the World Tribune/Living Buddhism subscriptions to just cover our costs. Our goal is to make these vital publications as widely accessible as possible.


• Bookstore sales.


• Fees for participation in conferences (primarily those held at the Florida Nature and Culture Center);

Please see the pie chart below for a breakout of income and expenses from different sources in 2011.

4. AUDIT

An independent audit of SGI-USA's business affairs is conducted annually. Among many purposes, the audit is designed to sample and test compliance with restrictions and intent of members' donations. The firm of Moss-Adams LLP, one of the leading accounting and auditing firms on the West Coast, currently serves as the auditor of the SGI-USA. Moss-Adams was selected based on that firm's reputation for integrity, independence and experience in auditing not-for-profit organizations.

In 2011, Moss-Adams gave an opinion that the organization's 2011 financial statements were in conformity with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the U.S. and accurately reflect its financial condition.

5. THE SGI-USA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The primary functions of SGI-USA's Board of Directors are to oversee the operations of the corporation, establish policies with respect to those operations, and review its financial statements and internal controls.

The Board of Directors is composed of ten members (please visit the Board of Directors page for more information on the individual directors). All directors are long-term SGI-USA members who bring a variety of professional expertise to their fiduciary responsibilities.

Directors receive no compensation for their service on the Board.