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CHINESE FREE MASON ATHLETIC CLUB INC

New York, NY · EIN 352165571 · Form 990 · FY2024 · NTEE A23 · Arts, Culture & Humanities · Small ($100K-$1M) · liondance211.org
revenue
$241K
expenses
$139K
net assets
$315K
employees
0
volunteers
12
program ratio
70%
mission · from form 990

ACTIVITIES INCLUDE LION DANCE, MARATHON & VOLLEYBALL

profile · synthesized from sources

The Chinese Free Mason Athletic Club Inc. is a New York-based cultural organization dedicated to preserving and promoting Chinese traditions through lion dance, martial arts, and community events. It serves youth and seniors in Chinatown by offering performance opportunities, athletic programs, and intergenerational cultural education. The organization also engages in fundraising through marathon partnerships to support its mission.

irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2024

What they reported doing

  1. #1 primary $27K
  2. #2 $1K
named programs · 4 · from sources

What they call their work

Basketball & 9-Man Volleyball
Sponsors youth basketball and nine-man volleyball teams competing in local and national Asian American tournaments; promotes physical activity and cultural connection through sport
HC Run Team
Organizes runners to participate in marathons and half marathons as charity ambassadors; raises funds and awareness for CFMAC through events like the TCS NYC Marathon and United Airlines NYC Half
Lion Dance Program
Teaches traditional Chinese lion dance, kung fu stances, theatrics, and music to teenagers and young adults; includes youth outreach and performance opportunities during Lunar New Year and cultural festivals
Visiting Seniors Initiative
Brings lion dance performances to senior centers and housing facilities during Lunar New Year to share cultural traditions with elderly residents who cannot attend parades
activities · 6 groups

What they do

  • Charity Event Organization 1 activity
    • Charity fundraising through running events
      Organizes and supports fundraising through marathon and half-marathon participation, including securing guaranteed entries as an official charity partner of the TCS New York City Marathon and United Airlines NYC Half Marathon. Participating runners are required to raise funds, with the organization offering training support and cultural engagement opportunities such as lion dance practices.
  • Community Festival & Event Production 1 activity
    • Community engagement and volunteerism
      Encourages members to volunteer at community events and participate in public cultural programming such as the Super Saturday Parade and the New York International Dragon and Lion Dance Festival, fostering community pride, belonging, and service.
  • Traditional & Cultural Performing Arts 1 activity
    • Lion dance performances and cultural programming
      Organizes and conducts traditional lion dance performances at cultural celebrations, festivals, parades, weddings, grand openings, and Chinese New Year events, including annual performances at Madison Square Garden for New York Knicks games and at senior centers across New York City. The organization also performs business blessings during parades and maintains a long-standing presence in Lunar New Year festivities, with documented performances dating back to 1993.
  • Workplace and Affiliate Giving Programs 1 activity
    • TD Bank affinity program fundraising
      Generates organizational funding through the TD Bank Affinity Program, receiving cash contributions based on new and existing checking accounts and a percentage of the annual average balance in linked savings accounts opened by members.
  • Martial Arts Instruction and Training 1 activity
    • Teaching traditional Chinese martial arts and fitness training
      Offers structured martial arts instruction in the Kwong Sai Jook Lum Southern Praying Mantis system and conducts fitness and strength training classes for members. The organization has operated one of New York’s largest kung fu schools since the 1960s and continues to teach traditional stances, strength training, and martial arts demonstrations as part of its core programming.
  • Amateur Sports Competition Programming 1 activity
    • Youth and community sports programs
      Provides youth-focused athletic programs including basketball and volleyball, sponsoring teams that compete in local and national tournaments. The organization also offers an annual summer lion dance course for children aged 8 to 12 and supports youth participation in marathons and fitness events.
financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$241K
Contributions & grants$231K96%
Program service revenue$00%
Investment income$10K4%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$139K
Program expenses70%
Admin / overhead29%
Fundraising1%
Salaries & benefits$0
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineFacilities
balance sheet
Total assets$315K
Cash$315K
Investments$0
Liabilities$0
Net assets$315K
Liquid reserves27.2 mo
3 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue +26.2%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024

Who runs it

board members · 4
  • ANTHONY CHEN — TREASURER
  • BRANDON LEE — PRESIDENT
  • KYLE LAI — SECRETARY
  • TU TO TRUONG — VICE PRESIDENT
relationships · 24

Who they work with

  • 5th Precinct Government — Coordinates with the local police precinct for permitting and public safety during the event.
  • Asian Hoops Partner — Participates annually in the Asian Hoops Blacktop Battle basketball tournament.
  • Bare Feet® with Mickela Mallozzi Partner — Featured in the travel and culture series Bare Feet® with Mickela Mallozzi in 2015.
  • CNN Partner — Featured in CNN coverage on lion dancing during Lunar New Year celebrations in New York.
  • Chinatown Flow Partner — Provides training space for an 8-week strength training program for fundraising runners preparing for the NYC Half Marathon.
  • Chinese Freemasons Network — Founded and supported by members of the Chinese Freemasons as part of their community initiative.
  • Chinese Freemasons Association Partner — Hosts the midnight lion dance performance at its location, 22 Mott Street, in coordination with the Athletic Club.
  • Great Big Story Partner — Featured in a Great Big Story segment on lion dance in 2017.
  • NBC News Partner — Featured in NBC News coverage on lion dancing in 2020.
  • NY Chinese Freemasons Athletic Club Partner — Hosted Great Grandmaster Lam Sang as Sifu/Head Instructor starting in the late 1950s for teaching Southern Praying Mantis kung fu.
  • NYFK Partner — Co-hosted the first New York International Dragon and Lion Dance Festival in 2017.
  • New York Chinese Freemasons Athletic Club Network — Lion Dance NYC is associated with the New York Chinese Freemasons Athletic Club, indicating organizational affiliation.
  • New York Knicks Partner — Collaborates with the New York Knicks to perform lion dances at Madison Square Garden events.
  • New York Mini Tournament Partner — Participates annually in the New York Mini volleyball tournament.
  • New York Road Runners Partner — Official charity partner for the 2026 TCS New York City Marathon.
  • New York Road Runners Partner — Official charity partner for the 2026 United Airlines NYC Half Marathon, providing guaranteed race entries for fundraising runners.
  • New York Times Partner — Subject of a New York Times feature highlighting the club's role in cultural traditions.
  • North American Chinese Invitational Volleyball Tournament Partner — Participates annually in the NACIVT 9-man volleyball tournament.
  • PBS NewsHour Partner — Featured in PBS NewsHour coverage of Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations.
  • Run Coach Kai Partner — Collaborates to provide marathon training program for CFMAC runners.
  • Run for Chinatown Partner — Hosts and supports fundraising runs in collaboration with the Run for Chinatown organization.
  • TD Bank Partner — Financial partner providing annual cash contributions through an affinity program linked to members' account activity.
  • Welcome to Chinatown Partner — Collaborated on a fundraising run to support Chinatown restaurants during the pandemic.
  • Welcome to Chinatown Partner — Longstanding collaborative partner in supporting Chinatown community.
strategies · 5

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Cultural Ritual as Identity and Resilience Building
    methodology: cultural_ritual_resilience
    By using lion dance and symbolic ritual structures, we strengthen community identity and cultural resilience, because ritual performance reinforces collective meaning, spiritual protection, and organizational strength through shared tradition.
  • Culture-Based Youth Development
    methodology: culture_based_youth_development
    By providing a supervised recreational center grounded in cultural programming, we prevent youth disengagement and promote heritage transmission, because structured cultural participation offers positive identity formation and alternatives to unsupervised environments.
  • Culture-Integrated Fundraising and Community Engagement
    methodology: cultural_fundraising_integration
    By embedding cultural participation—such as lion dance and parades—into fundraising campaigns and charity athletics, we deepen community ties and generate sustainable support, because shared cultural experience increases emotional investment and public visibility.
  • Integrated Spiritual-Physical Martial Arts Training
    methodology: spiritual_physical_integration
    By integrating spiritual (Sun Kung) and physical (Mo Kung) martial arts training, we develop holistic well-being, because balancing internal (Yin) and external (Yang) energies fosters sustained personal discipline and health resilience.
  • Peer-Driven Intergenerational Knowledge Transfer
    methodology: peer_mentorship
    By using peer mentorship and leadership from former participants, we sustain cultural practices like lion dance, because near-peer teaching strengthens trust, continuity, and authentic transmission across generations.