There are all the 990 reports on this page, at the bottom links section.
Soka University of America (953909672)
[nccsdataweb.urban.org]

Links
14. View 990, 990-EZ or 990-Pf: 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002

Quote
The Anticult
Its pretty much official, SGI is the richest sect/cult on earth.

Why doesn't anyone know this?

That is what SGI-USA is about, making money. So please, no one ever again say that SGI-USA is a mess, as they are SMARTER than every other sect out there! They make far far more money than any of them.

Ingenium is just starting so for now its at $0.

SGI seems to like doing that. As Soka Gakkai International USA also appears to have $0 in assets and revenue. That's right...ZERO.
[nccsdataweb.urban.org]
1. Name & EIN Soka Gakkai International USA (952265667)
( Approximate year when founded.*) 1968
6. IRS type 501(c)(3) - Public charity: Religious, educational, charitable, scientific, and literary organizations...
7. Legal basis for public charity or private foundation status (FNDNCD) 10 - Church
9. Most recently completed fiscal year (TAXPER) 12/2007
10. Total revenue $0
11. Total assets $0


That is because SGI must funnel all the SGI "church" money into other organizations.
How many SGI-USA people know, that it appears that EVERY PENNY that goes into SGI-USA, gets funneled away into other organizations? That is a FACT, look above. There are no assets or revenue. So every penny from every single thing Soka Gakkai International USA has done since 1968, has been funneled away somewhere.
Does anyone know that?
Its very interesting WHY SGI does that. Must be so that if anyone ever went after SGI, there is nothing there. It has no assets, NONE. Its simply an empty shell.
One hopes SGI people can understand that.
So your local SGI center, cannot be owned by SGI-USA, as then it would appear on those forms.
There are NO FORMS, as there are no assets?

So who owns all of those SGI centers?
Or what owns them?
Soka Gakkai International USA doesn't own them.

Are they owned by private for-profit SGI companies or individuals?
Please, someone try to find out who actually OWNS the local SGI center. It can't be Soka Gakkai International USA.
Who does?
One hopes people understand how incredibly bizarre this is.
WTF is going on here?
_

Okay, Anticult! I'll never say that SGI is a mess, or run by idiots again! Clearly those in charge are brilliant and I was the idiot! All those years I was a member, and I thought that they needed me to take my turn driving a couple of towns over to vacuum the lobby of the community center. My friends and I worked for free....for a very wealthy organization. How has SGI fooled so many people for so long?

Are there any tax lawyers, auditors, finance or real estate experts reading this thread, by any chance?

Anticult,
This is from SGI's website. I've heard of Daniel Habuki, Tariq Hassan, Guy McCloskey, and of course the SGI-USA director, Danny Nagashima.

Marylou Berk, Clothilde Hewlett, Gene Marie O'Connell, Jean Rosenberg and Greg Wolpert...I don't know them; the names are unfamiliar. Interesting that Marylou Berk and Greg Wolpert have the real estate expertise, given SGI's focus on accruing real estate. Financial services, law, human resources, medicine...these are, not surprisingly, people with connections and knowledge in many areas.

-----------------------------------------------------From SGI's Website--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The SGI-USA Board of Directors oversees the corporate functions of the SGI-USA, which include managing the finances and assets of the organization. There are currently nine directors. Directors serve a three-year staggered term and are eligible for reelection.

Marylou Berk
Global Head of Property Management at Morgan Stanley, a global financial services firm, responsible for 20 million square feet of property in 660 locations; many years of experience in real estate and project development/management.

Tariq Hasan
Tariq Hasan is Chairman of the Board of SGI-USA. He also became the Chief Operating Officer of SGI-USA in 2008 after many years in senior management with a major telecommunications company.

Daniel Habuki
President of Soka University of America; a qualified university professor with an MA in economics and a Ph.D. in agricultural economics as well as extensive international experience.

Clothilde Hewlett
Attorney and partner of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Elllis, LLP, with a focus on assisting private sector companies and tax-exempt organizations. Prior to joining K&L/Gates, she served as the California undersecretary of state and consumer services agency and interim director of the department of general services.

Guy McCloskey
Senior vice president and publisher of the SGI-USA; an SGI-USA staff member since 1968, he has served in multiple offices and in all internal departments, gaining knowledge and experience of the internal workings of the SGI-USA organization.

Danny Nagashima
SGI-USA general director. In the 24 years since he joined the SGI-USA staff in 1983, he has worked in various offices around the country.

Gene Marie O’Connell
Chief executive officer of San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center since 1998 and has served in a variety of capacities at the hospital since 1984. She is chair of the National Association of Public Hospitals and a member of both the San Francisco Hospital Council and the San Francisco Health Plan Board and its finance committee.

Jean Rosenberg
President of Career and Life Learning Systems, providing consulting services, tools and strategies for people to excel in their careers. She has broad knowledge and experience in Human Resources development.

Gregg Wolpert
New York City real estate industry executive for the past 25 years; he is co-president of The Stahl Organization, a New York-based conglomerate with extensive real estate, banking, construction and other equity interests. Prior to joining Stahl, he pioneered the development of analytical computer software used in real estate analysis and building management.
=====================================End of Quote================================================================

Everyone needs to read those 990 forms. Each year is only about 36 pages. They are available as PDF documents at the link below.
For 2007: (numbers are rounded off for ease of reading).

Their bookstore sold $12,000 worth of books. Wow, bigtime.


Meanwhile...what is Soka University really?
Its a massive investment holding company, that pays no taxes. These guys are brilliant businesspeople, who know how the system works.


They have about 600 million invested in public securities. (page 4)
They have about 300 million in land and buildings. (page 4)

They made 45 million from investment income.
They appear to have made 60 million in 2007 from investments in assets?
"UNREALIZED GAIN ON INVESTMENTS $57,481,615"
__________________________
TY 2006 Gain/Loss from Sale of Public Securities Schedule
Name : Soka University of America
EIN: 95-3909672
Gross Sales Price : $ 130, 027, 274
Basis : $ 104,050,423
Sales Expenses:
Total ( net): $ 25,976,851
_____________________________

Soka University is spending 1.25 MILLION per year on LOBBYING. (page 5)
"Lobbying nontaxable amount 1,000,000 1,000,000 1,000,000 1,000,000 TOTAL: 4,000,000"
"Grassroots nontaxable amount 250,000 250,000 250,000 250,000 TOTAL: 1,000,000"

This needs the most research. Why? Because SGI is a religion, its a church. And here is the old separation of church and state game hard at work, to the tune of 1.25 MILLION dollars a year.
What are they lobbying for? Who is getting that 1.25 million a year?


They own 5 million worth of art.

They pay their investment managers and architecs about a million a year each.

Cambridge Associates LLC
100 Summer Street
BOSTON, MA 021102112
investment managers $813,107

ZIMMER GUNSUL FRASCA ARCHITECTS LLP
320 SW OAK STREET SUITE 500
ARCHITECTS $812,280

All the senior Directors get paid 6 figures, plus.
Yoshinobu Habuki President $187,200
Tomoko Takahashi Provost $164,043
Archibald Asawa Secretary & Treasurer $156,000

Quote
The Anticult
There are all the 990 reports on this page, at the bottom links section.
Soka University of America (953909672)
[nccsdataweb.urban.org]

Links
14. View 990, 990-EZ or 990-Pf: 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/06/2009 12:05PM by The Anticult.

Again, just for comparison, other sects/cults can be searched for at this link.
[nccsdataweb.urban.org]
SGI-USA Soka University dwarfs all of them.
Even the Carnegie Corporation only has about 2.6 billion.

Also, it looks like many "churches" and "religious" orgs are coming up at ZERO assets and revenue, as they don't file 990 forms.
Churches are not required to file the 990 Form.
[www.crown.org]
When in fact many of them have countless millions in assets.
So in fact, Soka Gakkai International USA could ALSO have unbelievable amounts of assets and holdings.
Of course, REPUTABLE churches do voluntarily file the 990 Form, so people can see what is going on. Obviously Soka Gakkai International USA does not file this form.
So no one should ever give them one-penny, you have no idea of where your money is going.

So in fact, its even worse. How much does Soka Gakkai International USA have in assets?
It could be even more than Soka University?

What an mind-boggling sham. You have a "university" worth 1 billion, with 350 students, which is obviously just a tax-free investment mechanism.
And then SGI-USA, how much are they worth on top of that?
So that is the way to go to get rich quick tax-free, start a "religion" and a "university".


__________________________

Soka University of America REVENUE $135,095,416 ASSETS $903,792,416

MSIA University of Santa Monica REV $5,453,423 ASSETS $4,265,601

Transcendental Meditation / Maharishi: Total assets about $300,000,000 for about 10 organizations.

Scientology: (comes up all zero's as well)

Byron Katie: Work Foundation Inc (870559189) Rev: $258,644 Assets: $430,123

Christian Science: a total of a few million comes up.

SGI-USA seems to be also worth many hundreds of millions of dollars in property.
Or is it billions?

________QUOTE_______________
[www.culthelp.info]
Three Conditions for Religious Corporate Tax Exemption

SGI-USA (Soka Gakkai International-United States of America), Soka Gakkai's American religious corporation, owns vast real estate around Los Angeles. We reported about this fact in our previous issue, but since most of the property purchased is owned by a religious corporation, no fixed asset taxes are assessed.

"American religious corporations, the same as in Japan, receive preferential treatment from the standpoint of tax laws. But in Japan, if a group possesses the qualifications to be a religious corporation, then no taxes are assessed unconditionally. That's different from America, where, even if religious corporate status is granted, they are not given tax exempt privileges unless a tax exempt petition is submitted to the local and state tax authorities and an audit is passed. Three prerequisites for tax exemption are stipulated in Article 501 of the City Tax Code. The first is, political activities and political donations are forbidden. The second is, excessive for-profit enterprises are forbidden. And the third is, the privatization of the religious group's assets by the head or the leaders is forbidden. If these regulations are violated, tax exempt privileges are not given." (International Business Law Professor Ishimura of Asahi University)

I flew to Los Angeles and received from many former SGI-USA leaders detailed testimony concerning the reality of the Soka Gakkai's overseas assets and overseas activities, which up to now have remained largely unrevealed. According to their testimony, there are suspicions about whether the SGI-USA is in violation of two of the three conditions which must be met to receive tax exempt status.

Among those former leaders, former SGI-USA Chapter Chief, James Eagleton points out the privatization of the religious group. "At the Malibu Training Center, there's a house for Ikeda that we members are never allowed to enter. We are allowed to enter only the training center itself. The house is a private building which is used only when Ikeda comes to Los Angeles, and it's shrouded in a veil of secrecy."
_________________QUOTE_____________________

Quote
The Anticult
What an mind-boggling sham. You have a "university" worth 1 billion, with 350 students, which is obviously just a tax-free investment mechanism.
And then SGI-USA, how much are they worth on top of that?
So that is the way to go to get rich quick tax-free, start a "religion" and a "university".

-------From Soka University of America's Website------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SUA offers generous financial aid to both US and International students, with free tuition available to eligible admitted students whose earned family income is $60,000 or less (room and board fees still apply.) The mission of Soka University is to “foster a steady stream of global citizens committed to living a contributive life.”
--------------------------------------------End of Quote-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, Soka University can certainly afford it.

------------------------------From www.mombu.com/religion--------Fundraising in SGI Japan-----Quote------------------------------------------------------
At any rate, the Soka Gakkai's tremendous money
collection activities, which they call "zaimu" (financial affairs), is
already common knowledge. Moreover, their current method
of collecting money consists of "bank transfers." It is extremely
efficient, organizationally.

Journalist Isao Dan says, "To begin with, I have never heard of a
religious corporation which collects donations through bank
transfers.

One unit of Soka Gakkai zaimu is $100, and there is no limit to
how much may be given above that amount
Last year zaimu was conducted for three and a half
months, from September 13 until December 31. Zaimu collected by
the Gakkai for one year ranges from $2 billion to $3
billion. I have even heard the number estimated at $3,900,000,000."

Zaimu was originally introduced into the Gakkai in the decade
between 1945 and 1955. At that time, only wealthy
households were zaimu members, and they each donated 4,000
yen a year. (With the post-war exchange rate of 360 yen to
one dollar, U.S., the amount would have come to just over 11
U.S. dollars.)

Mr. Isao continues. "However, this was gradually expanded, so
that money was collected from the households of general
members. From the early '70's, it extended beyond the aim of
kosen-rufu. They began what they called 'special zaimu,' under
the pretext of constructing facilities called Soka Culture Centers
and of donating temples to the sect. Then, from 1977, it took
the form of the current zaimu, where once a year they collect
at least $100 per person. They used to call the people who
collect zaimu, Zaimu Division members. They now call such
people Kofu (Kosen-rufu) Division members."

When the current Honorary President Ikeda was reinstated
as Sokoto (the General Head of the Hokkeko) in 1982, they
escalated their money collecting activities, calling it "a mad
dash forward." According to the journalist Masao Okkotsu (a
Soka University graduate), "Previously, one unit of zaimu
was $100 per person per year, but now there is no limit to how
much a person can give above that amount. Money is even
given in the name of children. It is not at all unusual for families
who are not the least bit wealthy to give $10,000 or $20,000.
Gakkai members who give more than $100,000 are called
'Diamond Members. Orders have been handed down from
the Headquarters for chapter leaders to see how many 'Diamond
Members' they can muster. There are even cases where the
Gakkai has learned of a father passing away, and they have
collected the money that he willed to the family."

From 1985, they instituted the "bank transfers" in big cities
such as Tokyo on an experimental basis. From 1990, this was
carried out on a nationwide basis. Mr. Okkotsu explains,
"Before the 'bank transfers,' Gakkai members would assemble at
the districts and chapters on the last Sunday of July and
make cash donations only on that day. They would stuff their money
into a cardboard box, and it would be conveyed to the Gakkai
Headquarters, but leaders would pilfer the cash enroute to the
Headquarters. This happened frequently. In addition, there was
the danger of transporting large amounts of cash in an
automobile, so they hit upon the idea of 'bank transfers.'"

However, as may be expected, there are no other religious groups
which employ such conspicuous techniques. Rissho
Koseikai, which has approximately 6 million believers, collects
one dollar when someone joins and one dollar a month for
operating expenses, as well as monetary donations they call "zaishi"
(monetary offerings). However, a spokesman says,
"When members come to one of our 239 churches throughout the
country, they place donations in a collection box, which we
refer to as a 'donation box.' But we do not set the amount a
person is to give, like the Soka Gakkai does. We do not set time
periods or distribute blank bank transfer forms. And of course,
there is absolutely never any coercion."

Seicho no Ie has approximately 800,000 believers. A
spokesman says, "Members give monetary donations, which we call
'kenshi' (donated funds), and which are classified according
to four rankings: $1 a month, $4 a month, $10 a month, and
more than $100 a month. Also, aside from that, those who
make a one-time donation of $1,000 or $10,000 are called
Seicho no Ie Special Members. This is the designation we give
to people who come with money and wish to donate it for
something other than operating expenses. Most members make
donations every month, but there is no donation amount
stipulated as being 'special.' Everyone comes to the churches and
each of them make their donations there."

The Soka Gakkai is referred to as a money collecting religious
body, but with the bank transfers, they have further increased
their efficiency. A former Gakkai district leader attests, "Officially,
there is no coercion in the Gakkai's zaimu activities, but in
actuality, they are quite skilled in collecting zaimu. First of all,
six months before payments are to commence, certificates of
merit acknowledging Kofu Division members are passed out in
each district. In addition, scarves used for wrapping prayer
beads in are passed out as commemorative items. The designs
on these scarves change every year, and the patterns have

{Clearly some text is missing here. I'm guessing that the scarves have a different pattern each year -- if you don't have a scarf with the current pattern, it's a red flag to all the other members that you haven't contributed -- or contributed enough. I would say that the next paragraph deals with experiences, testimonies that members give.}

opportunity to give their experiences. They take such forms as,
'I gave this much and received this benefit, and thanks to
zaimu, my business is prospering greatly.'

Members are given rankings of ABC, according to the extent
of their faith. Then, when the zaimu is collected, members are
made to write down how much they will donate this year and
by what date it will be paid. Blank bank transfer forms are also
passed out. If the proposed amount is paid, there is no problem,
but when the money is not paid in the designated time or
when the amount is less than proposed, distric leaders go
around to the members' homes and persuade them until the money
is collected. They are relentless, making no allowances."

A Lawsuit for Repayment Turned Away at the Door

Well, what becomes of the tremendous amount of money collected?
The previously introduced Mr. Dan says, "It is estimated
that the cash the Gakkai currently holds is $20,040,000,000.
Just the interest on that money is $70 million. Their primary
disbursements are for real estate. They construct facilities and
training centers all over the country, but recently, they have
purchased castles in Italy and England. In addition, the personnel
expenses for the Gakkai's 3,000 employees is a pretty fair
amount. Aside from the above, they presumably also give
money to the Soka schools."

However, a financial expert says that most of the money
collected is invested in financial markets. "In the case of last year,
money transferred to authorized accounts at banks in Tokyo
was added up twice between September and November. The
three extra months' worth of zaimu was received as 'pennies
from heaven' and kept idle in the usual accounts. They thought it
would be profitable if they lumped it all together and invested the
large amount at fixed intervals. The money from the banks in
Tokyo was amassed together at the Yotsuya branch of Mitsubishi
Bank, the Gakkai's main bank and then invested in the
zaimu department of each of the Tokyo banks. Then, in
accordance with instructions from Mitsubishi Bank, the money was
returned to the Yotsuya branch, and then remitted to banks and
securities firms which pay high interest. Then it was deposited
in a fixed account in the Postal savings system. There is also a
recent report that it is being invested as a hedge fund for
overseas, where they are speculatively vigorous."

Of course, a sufficient amount of money is converted into
maneuvering capital and traveling expenses for when Daisaku, who
loves honors and decorations, meets with overseas VIP's.
This is not just talk to make the believers, who have submitted their
savings, believing them to be offerings, feel like fools.

In response to this illegitimate usage of funds, lawsuits seeking
repayment have occurred before now. There is the example of
a suit being filed in a Tokyo court in 1979, where approximately
530 plaintiffs sought repayment of approximately $1,000
each, for a total of $500,000. However, according to a representative
of the plaintiffs at the time, "Zaimu should be collected
based upon the spirit of offerings, but it was not, so they wanted
their money back. Our stand did not mesh with the Gakkai
insistence that zaimu is capital used for kosen-rufu activities.
In the end, the court decided that a courtroom is not the place to
settle a religious problem, and they dismissed the lawsuit."

There is an instance which occurred after that, in 1982 in Kochi,
where 72 people selected three people to represent them as
plaintiffs in a lawsuit. In that instance, the Gakkai was ordered to
repay approximately $7 million. Though the Gakkai
appealed the decision, the very best they could do was reach a
compromise to pay back $10,000 per person. According to
one of the people involved at the time, "In that case, the Gakkai
had at one time agreed to pay back the money, but they
never paid it back, so the suit was not over a doctrinal problem.
It was a fight against only a broken promise for repayment,
so the lawsuit concluded in a victory for the plaintiffs. If the
lawsuit had from the very beginning focused on doctrine, it
probably would have been turned away at the door of the courthouse."

Its Very Existence Is Unconstitutional

However, there is no doubt that the Soka Gakkai's very existence is
anti-social, seeing that it takes advantage of people's
weakness, the same as the Unification Church. A Gakkai
observer notes, "No. The Unification Church takes people's money,
but at least they leave a pot to cook in. The Gakkai takes until
there is nothing left. It's existence is evil from beginning to end."

Professor Hirohisa Kitano of the Legal Department of
Nihon University says, "The Soka Gakkai has been formally
excommunicated from their Head Temple. They have no
object of worship or anything else. They are nothing more than a
collection of believers. Furthermore, their zaimu and bank
transfers have no religious significance at all. Despite all of that, the
Gakkai is recognized as a religious corporation. That in itself
is strange, and it is clearly in violation of the Constitution.
Concretely speaking, it is first of all in violation of Article 20
of the Constitution. That is the article which stipulates the
freedom of religion, but it also states that religious bodies
are not to receive special rights from the State, and that those
bodies are not to exercise governmental authority. They
originally did not have tax exempt status, but now they do so this
shows that they receive special rights from the State. In addition,
they are in violation of Article 89, which stipulates that
religious bodies are not to receive disbursements of public moneys.
Not paying taxes which should be paid is the same as
receiving disbursements of public moneys. Taxes of 35 -37%
should be levied against the Gakkai's zaimu activities, the same
as for enterprises in general. Even making a tremendous
compromise and (hypothetically) acknowledging that the Gakkai is a
religious corporation, still taxes of 27% percent should be
levied against a non-profit organizations for- profit enterprises."

If we deal with the issue of separation of Church and State,
it is impossible to consider as taboo the matter of the Gakkai's
existence. Liberal Democrat (LDP) Diet member Yoshinobu
Shimamura is following up on the Gakkai problem. He states,
"Until now, we have wanted to avoid making the LDP and the
Soka Gakkai enemies. We have emphasized peace at any
price, but now no one is saying anything like that." If that is the
case, then Honorary President Ikeda should either be
summoned to appear before the Diet or the Gakkai should be
forced to disband.

Famous quote of the month:

"As an eternal principle, the Soka Gakkai will never ask for even
the tiniest contribution of offering from the members."
Daiskau Ikeda
Seikyo Shimbun, June 16, 1962
--------------------------------------------End of Quote--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

mombu.com has a considerable number of posts on SGI. Though I haven't read them all, the ones I've seen all appear to be unfavorable. SGI itself insists that it is the victim of yellow journalism in Japan, where the tabloids lie viciously about Ikeda and SGI to sell their papers. So how seriously should you take this post on SGI fundraising in Japan? And how valid and unbiased is mombu.com's information overall?

When you consider the information that Anticult found on SGI's wealth, this particular post makes sense. The money for SGI's investments and real estate had to come from somewhere. Where else but from the bank accounts of the Japanese Soka Gakkai members?

As a former SGI-USA member, I remember the 'zaimu' campaigns, and the 'special zaimu' campaigns for building things like the community centers. We did not experience the intense pressure that the Japanese members experienced to donate, however. I remember occasionally, we American members would complain about being asked to donate money. The senior leaders, usually Japanese, would laugh and say that we shouldn't complain. SGI-USA, (or NSA, as we were called back then) DID NOT pay its own way, they told us! The Japanese members were subsidizing us, we were told! Well, that could certainly be true, given how the Japanese members were being squeezed for money!

Given that the Japanese culture values obedience to authority, group over individual, conformity, and not losing "face," SGI leaders may have found the Japanese members easier to manipulate into giving donations. So why does SGI bother with us argumentative, individualistic westerners who don't even pull our own weight financially (if that part is even true.)?

Well, having an organization in the United States gives SGI greater access to American real-estate, financial institutions, and the educational system. It gives them more places to launder and invest their money. It's a new set of tax laws to find loopholes in. And besides, Daisaku wants to rule the world. Japan's not big enough for his ambitions. It gives his ego a huge rush that even stubborn, independent Yankees adore him.

At an SGI meeting, years ago, I heard an experience from a Japanese woman who had been living in the United States. She gave $100,000 to SGI. Yes, a hundred thousand dollars, all the money she had in this world! She had sold her house -- and given SGI everything. Even then, I thought, "Oh my God, why?" I don't think that I ever gave more than a hundred dollars at a time to SGI. Why in the world would a person even think of giving so much, everything they have? It must have been this "diamond member" thing that SGI--Japan pushes.

I don't know what ever became of that woman. She wanted to go to grad school, and didn't have the money....but she was a true believer and confident that everything would be wonderful because she had given SGI so much money. She seemed happy. I was horrified.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/07/2009 11:38PM by tsukimoto.

That claim by SGI Soka University is obviously extremely suspicious.
Free tuition?
What are the criteria? Who decides?
How many people per year?
Are they taking local SGI members, or ones from Japan?

It doesn't make any sense that a "university" with "free tuition" in the USA would have 350 students!
That cannot be accepted on face value, and the fine print would have to be checked out very carefully.

Quote
tsukimoto

-------From Soka University of America's Website--------------------------------------------------

SUA offers generous financial aid to both US and International students, with free tuition available to eligible admitted students whose earned family income is $60,000 or less (room and board fees still apply.) The mission of Soka University is to “foster a steady stream of global citizens committed to living a contributive life.”
--------------------------------------------End of Quote-----------------------------------------

Well, Soka University can certainly afford it.