Desai Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 043433749
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2018–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-PF 2016
- Location
- Woburn, MA, USA
- Phone
- 7812703655
- Rating
- 75
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Private Grantmaking Foundations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,919,129
- Expenses
- $1,531,164
- Assets
- $4,526,874
- Liabilities
- $33,762
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MEGHA DESAI (President)
People named in this filing
- SAMIR DESAI (Trustee)
- SINDHYA VALLOPPILLOI (Director)
- MOHA DESAI (TRUSTEE)
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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The desai foundation empowers women and children through community programs to elevate health, livelihood, menstrual equity in rural india. To develop and implement educational programs to promote indian culture and heritage in the united states.
What it reported doing in 2024
The desai foundation provides support for social, health, and economic life in villages of india.2024-2025 impact:336,000 reached with mhm awareness (menstrual hygiene management), 563,000 reached with health & hygiene awareness, 163,000 hemoglobin tests conducted for anemia diagnosis, 284,000 reached by helpdesk services, 28,831 reached in banking and saving education and awareness program, 5,011 students attended computer class, 4,408 trained in sewing skills, 9,653 children attended summer camps, 171,000 reached in primary health & hygiene education, 8,912 in career guidance program.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 90% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 72% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 92
- Transparency & Controls: 52
- Accountability: 72
- Sustainability: 76
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 88.2%; rating input score 88
- Fundraising efficiency: $24.16 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Fail
- 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: 0%; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 62.5%; rating input score 62; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- 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: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 20.2%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.96; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 19.3% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 11.9% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -1.2% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 88.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 8 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $102K reported
- Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes foreign activity
- Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 15 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.