Iearn Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
133782233
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2128702693
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,960,990
Expenses
$3,911,689
Assets
$1,219,593
Liabilities
$713,312

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STEFANIE ORTIZ-CIDLIK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • STEFANIE ORTIZ-CIDLIK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $192,379 total reported compensation
  • SARAH OWO-OYEKAN (FINANCE DIRECTOR): $113,491 total reported compensation
  • MELISSA ROWKER (DIR. OF GLOBAL EDUCATION): $103,582 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of iearn-USA is to develop and empower an inclusive global community of students and educators who bridge cultural divides and work together to make a meaningful difference in the world.

What it reported doing in 2025

Iearn-USA's compaeros de clase globales is a grant-funded initiative featuring multi-round virtual exchange programs between the united states, guatemala, and mexico. The program consists of several 9-10 week projects, offering students in spanish-speaking k-12 classrooms the opportunity to explore real-world issues and consider what it means to make a positive impact on the world. The projects are based on the un sustainable development goals (sdgs) and are designed for integration into social studies, creative and language arts, or stem curricula.in 2025, iearn-USA successfully implemented two compaeros de clase globales program cohorts. The program was delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous virtual sessions. A total of 584 participants successfully completed the program across the two cohorts. In guatemala, 10 classes with a total of 261 students completed the program. In mexico, 4 classes with a total of 140 students completed the program. In the united states, 14 classes with a total of 183 students completed the program.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 92% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 81% 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

SUPPORTED - 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 85%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $54.69 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • 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: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 48th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.2%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.31; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.58; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.5%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -4.5% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3.1% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -15.2% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84% of revenue deployed · 85% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $3.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $192K · 10 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 31/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 9/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 13/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.