Experience International

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
911430325
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Bellingham, WA, USA
Phone
3609663876
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Exchange, N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$581,495
Expenses
$578,517
Assets
$180,957
Liabilities
$30,920

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • THOMAS HENDERSON (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • DAVID GROSS (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ANNELIESE COUSINEAU (Exec Dir): $73,000 total reported compensation
  • THOMAS HENDERSON (VICE PRESIDENT): $5,742 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

International educational/cultural exchanges and study tour programs

What it reported doing in 2025

Exchange Programs: Designated by the U.S. Department of State as a J-1 Exchange Visitor program sponsor, Experience International brings qualified foreign nationals to the United States for up to 18 months of practical training, internships, and training at U.S. host companies in a variety of career fields, including sciences, computer science, engineering, math, architecture, industrial occupations, business, commerce, finance, marketing, management, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, wildlife, natural resources, information media, communications, education, social sciences, and library sciences. EI also partners with countries in Europe, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand to offer internships and work experiences for U.S. citizens in the field of agriculture.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 90% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.7%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 91.7%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • 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: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.5%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.31; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.6%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.7% of revenue deployed · 91.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $530K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $73K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 24 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 32/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 16/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 28/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.