Africa College Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
452028199
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2022, Form 990-N 2014
Location
Fairfield, IA, USA
Phone
6414722069
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Relief

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,648,090
Expenses
$1,216,420
Assets
$533,317
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Adam Paul Blecher (President and Founder)
  • Anne Marie Blecher (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • Adam Paul Blecher (President and Founder)
  • Heather Hartnett (Secretary)
  • Anne Marie Blecher (Vice President)

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

AFRICA COLLEGE FUND is dedicated to empowering disadvantaged youth with tools for success including education and entrepreneurship opportunities. This results in eradication of poverty through provision of quality, effective, consciousness-based University and vocational education.

What it reported doing in 2025

Grants to Maharishi Education for Invincibility Trust - MEIT - in South Africa, to give unemployed youth a full package of support: Degrees through Maharishi International University, Fairfield, Iowa and places them into jobs part-time while they are studying, and permanent jobs in SA on graduation. MEIT has a 90 percent graduate job placement rate, and over 90 percent of graduates have maintained employment beyond the first year of employment. This is amongst the highest success rates in the country of South Africa. The grant funding assisted with the educational costs in entirety of youth for a full year of University education, and related costs. MEIT has got to a point of being 85 percent self-funding, including a program called 'learn and earn' 'pay it forward'. This is in line with Africa College Fund's mission of supporting non-profit, tax-exempt organisations that have a focus on creating financial sustainability, to ensure long term success. Grants also include scholarship support for girls in the Maharishi Invincibility School of Management, as well as establishing the organisation with a new University college in Zimbabwe, and establishing a sister grant making organisation in the UK.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

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: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 51
  • Accountability: 65
  • Sustainability: 63
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73.8%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Fail
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 0.9%; rating input score 1; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 60%; rating input score 60; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 26.2%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.44; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18.5% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 25.8% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 30.1% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 73.8% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 5 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 14 of 15 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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: 8 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 1/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 22/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.