Hand of Hope

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
320438382
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2018–2025
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2017
Location
Nashville, TN, USA
Rating
45
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and Fund Distribution
Affiliation
Christianity

Reported finances

Revenue
$90,809
Expenses
$98,220
Assets
$45,791

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

Leadership & pay

2 people listed

People named in this filing

  • Samuel Dersu (Co-Founder)
  • Vivian Dersu (Co-Founder & Administrator)

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

Hand of Hope is an organization dedicated to improving peoples lives in southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya through orphan care aid to the poor and evangelism.

What it reported doing in 2025

The organizations Childrens Program provides financial and educational support to vulnerable children in southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya who have lost parents due to conflict or health related causes. During the year more than 100 children received assistance covering basic needs school materials and access to primary and secondary education. The program also addressed basic health needs to support consistent school attendance. Seven beneficiaries continued into higher education. The organization also supported 15 children in northern Kenya through the John Fox Fund by paying school fees and ensuring access to education in an underserved area. In addition the Mwangaza Lunch Program provided a daily nutritious meal to more than 40 children many of whom travel long distances to school. This service improved nutritional stability and supported students ability to remain focused throughout the school day. Across these initiatives the organization delivered essential services that improved educational access health stability and overall well being for more than 100 children and their families.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 1
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 1.3%; rating input score 1
  • Program expense ratio: 1.2%; rating input score 1

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -8.2%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.47; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -4% per year; rating input score 0; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 1.3% of revenue deployed · 1.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 5 filed program accomplishments · $1K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 2 people listed
  • Consistency: 7 of 8 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2018 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 1/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 1/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part III transfer expenses within program total did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 31/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.