Iesc

Legal name: Improving Economies for Stronger Communities

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
132503656
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Aug 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
+1 202 589 2600
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$32,318,340
Expenses
$31,867,803
Assets
$32,425,820
Liabilities
$28,963,001

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAVID HARTINGH (CEO/PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID HARTINGH (CEO/PRESIDENT): $460,189 total reported compensation
  • PRADEEP LIYANAMANA (CHIEF OF PARTY): $301,226 total reported compensation
  • DAVID BLOOD (CHIEF OF PARTY): $286,296 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

IESC is a leading U.S. nonprofit organization that fosters prosperity and stability through economic growth in economically developing countries.

What it reported doing in 2024

Agriculture-led growth: in the home office, iesc is structured under a practice area model. Our three current practice areas include: 1) agriculture-led growth; 2) trade and enterprise; and 3) workforce, entrepreneurship, and youth. The agriculture-led growth practice area works to foster agricultural development in the economically developing world by facilitating technical assistance, mutually beneficial linkages, and access to information, technologies, and markets.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 93% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 60% for direct work, and 40% for grants.

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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 77
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.1%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 80.2%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $17.6 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Pass
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.4%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.02; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.89; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.4%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.7% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.9% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 8 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 23 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 79.1% of revenue deployed · 80.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $25.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $460K · 21 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $814K reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 18 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 5 filed related-organization links
  • 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: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 54/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 40/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 37/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.