Build a School in Africa
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 030406505
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2025–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2023
- Location
- Williamsburg, MA, USA
- Phone
- 4159422372
- Rating
- 85
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Fund Raising and Fund Distribution
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $61,853
- Expenses
- $72,516
- Assets
- $231,248
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
4 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Matthew Heberger (President)
People named in this filing
- Matthew Heberger (President)
- Alice Heller (Treasurer)
- Kyla Malone (Clerk)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Build a School in Africa is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization founded in 2005 that raises funds to help build schools in Mali, West Africa. We pay for cement, steel rebar, windows and doors, paint, and skilled labor, while the host community provides sand, gravel, water, and unskilled labor, and is responsible for paying teachers and managing the school. Since 2005, we have funded the construction of 34 schools.
What it reported doing in 2025
Construction of school #35, Tionso, Mali, begun Mar 24. Including $750 extra for a solar lighting system.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 89% 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Revenue has declined or grown slowly and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 98
- Transparency & Controls: 84
- Sustainability: 48
- Growth: 0
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 95.8%; rating input score 96
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 80%; rating input score 80; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -17.2%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.19; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: -124.1% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -4.5% per year; rating input score 0; 25th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 95.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 3 filed program accomplishments · $69K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
- Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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 — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.