Building Minds in South Sudan
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 364659286
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2017–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2021, Form 990-N 2010
- Location
- Rochester, NY, USA
- Phone
- 5854425111
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- International Relief
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $313,403
- Expenses
- $357,582
- Assets
- $19,787
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Sebastian Maroundit (President)
- Mathon Noi (Vice President)
People named in this filing
- Sebastian Maroundit (President)
- Mathon Noi (Vice President)
- Judy Schwartz (Board 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
After fleeing a war-torn region years ago as "lost boys", our founders, Sebastian and Mathon, decided to return to their homeland, a newly-formed country, to improve literacy, equality and economic opportunity.
What it reported doing in 2025
Our program goals include:- Advancing gender equality and literacy - Providing a safe educational environment to help children reach their full potential- Empowering current and future women-entrepreneurs by expanding educational access and offering microfinance grants- Working with local, regional and national governments to develop educational- Policies and contribute to building security and faculty training-Fueling South Sudan's economy by enhancing upward mobility and economic independence(continued on Schedule O)- Promoting school buildings as centers of healthy activity and opportunity- Cultivating community gardens to increase sustainable food sources and support local agriculture.The Organization is supported through contributions.
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 98% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - 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: 98
- Transparency & Controls: 75
- Accountability: 76
- Sustainability: 25
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 98.3%; rating input score 98
- Fundraising efficiency: $113.37 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 85; 85th 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: 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -14.1%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.06; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 9.6% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -14.2% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 98.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $352K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
- Filing history: 5 filing years from 2017 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: 8 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 15/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 5/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.