Ameson

Legal name: Ameson Education and Cultural Exchange Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
134017822
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2016
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2016
Location
San Francisco, CA, US
Phone
415-778-8230
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,821,661
Expenses
$1,934,042
Assets
$551,121
Liabilities
$841,340

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2016. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • STEPHEN SMITH (SECRETARY &): $107,935 total reported compensation
  • ZHU XIAO DI (DEPUTY DIREC): $107,118 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2016. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Ameson helps educational institutions identify, prevent, respond to, and recover from adversity and risks, enabling them to advance their mission.

What it reported doing in 2016

Ameson year in china (ayc) program launched in 2012, the ayc program supports the goals of the 100,000 strong initiative, which was first announced jointly by u.s. President barack obama and then-chinese president hu jintao in november 2009, and formally launched by then-secretary of state hillary clinton in may 2010. We share their view that understanding china can no longer be considered optional, but is a clear an urgent national necessity. Through the ayc program, participants help realize this mission by developing an even deeper insight into chinese society, culture, and language. By increasing their own cross-cultural fluency, college graduates expand their horizons and enhance their careers by spending an academic year teaching, studying, and impacting the lives of children at placement sites across china. Native english-speaking degree holders are welcome to apply to teach english in china's public elementary, middle, and high schools. During their year in china, participants have three missions: to act as american ambassadors to china, to learn about and explore chinese culture, and to teach english. Participants immerse themselves in the heart of chinese society; improve their competitiveness in job applications in china, at home and around the world; and learn mandarin - an asset in business, government and non-profit organizations. What participants learn in china can also enhance academic opportunities at graduate schools upon their return to the united states. Moreover, ayc teachers have the ability to travel and experience the vibrancy of china.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 76% for direct work, and 24% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 60
  • Sustainability: 18
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.7%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 76%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.1 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Limited
    • Requires narrative reports: Limited
    • Conducts field audits: Limited
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Limited
    • Conducts site visits: Limited
    • Requires grant agreements: Limited
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 84.6%; rating input score 85; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -6.2%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.28; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.53; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.1%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 22.9% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 33.7% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 80.7% of revenue deployed · 76% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 13 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $108K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and grants
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2014 to 2016
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 48/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 3/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.