Academics Without Borders

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
981184500
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Vancouver, BC, CA
Phone
6043518277
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$244,866
Expenses
$188,970
Assets
$494,585
Liabilities
$40,549

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Nancy Gallini (Executive Director)

People named in this filing

  • Arshad Ahmad (Board Member)
  • Christina Amon (Board Member)
  • Nello Angerilli (Past Chair)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Academics Without Borders' (the "AWB or the Organization") mission is to assist low and middle-income countries to improve their institutions of higher education so that they can train their own experts and conduct research to assist in their countries' development. AWB's projects are involved in the full range of activities from expanding and improving existing institutions and programs to helping create new ones.

What it reported doing in 2025

Academics Without Borders' mission is to help people in the developing world realize their dreams through higher education because education is the key to a flourishing society and a sustainable world. Academics Without Borders' projects are involved in the full range of university and college activities from expanding and improving existing institutions and programs to helping create new ones.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 91% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 50
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 68.4%; rating input score 68
  • Program expense ratio: 84.5%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $116.67 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 22.8%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.62; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.7% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -6.8% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -9.5% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 68.4% of revenue deployed · 84.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $160K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 17 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes foreign activity
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 24/100.