Canopy Life International Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
472207010
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Atlanta, GA, USA
Phone
4045094914
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.
Affiliation
Christianity

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,267,374
Expenses
$2,226,845
Assets
$1,375,002
Liabilities
$14,623

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Christi Baker Gordy (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Christi Baker Gordy (Executive Director): $92,700 total reported compensation
  • Jan Morrow (Chief Operating Officer): $43,533 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Canopy Life International's (the Organization") purpose is to open schools abroad with a particular focus on innovation and leadership. The mission is to adopt a curriculum that focuses on building a country's next generation of leaders. We do this through quality education, intentional relationships and environments that spark the imagination. Specifically, we are integrating design thinking into the national Kenyan curriculum, adjusting the teaching model to promote critical thinking amongst the students, and exposing them to the arts and other worldview experiences otherwise unreachable to students of their economic position. The Organization is also a Christian organization, standing firmly on the values of faith, family and Jesus Christ to guide students into strong character and purpose.

What it reported doing in 2025

In December 2024, our first full graduating class of 16 students completed their senior secondary examinations. We celebrated this milestone with a graduation ceremony in January 2025, which was combined with our 10-year anniversary celebration of Canopy Life International.In 2025, we launched a major campus expansion project in Kenya to support future student growth. This included construction of two additional student residences, a new academic facility, renovation of the current residence to house the Spiritual Life and Counseling Program, and external infrastructure improvements such as a water tower, parking area, new gate, and guardhouse. The purpose of this expansion was to add students to our programs and to expand to offer residential high school services. As of December 2025, the project was approximately 80% complete, with plans for full completion by March 2026.Staff Expansion: To strengthen organizational sustainability and leadership capacity, we hired a full-time Development Director and Chief Operating Officer in the United States, as well as a Finance and Administrative Director in Kenya. We also added a Communications Officer and an Innovation Instructor to our Kenya staff team.Kenya Student Tour to the United States: In November 2025, we hosted a delegation of five students and three staff members from Kenya for a U.S. tour. Students visited donors and partners, shared about Canopy Life programs, and participated in career exposure experiences with various businesses and institutions in Atlanta. Cultural experiences included visits such as the Georgia Aquarium.Academic Achievement: In December 2025, our 9th-grade students took their national high school entrance examinations with strong results: three students achieved perfect scores of all A's, twelve students scored above average, and only one student scored below average. With the completion of campus expansion, students will remain at Canopy Life as they enter senior secondary (10th grade), and the Organization has begun the secondary school registration process.Ministry of Education Compliance: In accordance with Ministry of Education requirements, we secured funding for construction of an additional residence for the Head Teacher in Kenya.Campus Projects Completed in 2025:-Completion of a fume chamber adjacent to the chemistry laboratory for student use.2025 Program EnhancementsShadow a CEO Day: The Kenya Board organized a "Shadow a CEO" program in Nairobi, providing students the opportunity to spend a day with senior business leaders. Students shadowed executives at organizations including Kenya Airways, Peak and Dale Marketing, and the Kenya Securities Exchange. This initiative provided valuable career exposure, leadership insight, and professional development opportunities and was very well received by both students and partner organizations.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 97% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 87% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 74.4%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.58 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Pass
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 78th 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: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -75.7%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.62; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.1%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 19.1% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.3% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.4% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 74.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $93K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2016 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 10/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 48/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 59/100.