Indigenous Education Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
811754189
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Albuquerque, NM, USA
Phone
5053130032
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,653,063
Expenses
$10,552,750
Assets
$4,846,888
Liabilities
$4,435,207

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MELVIN E MONETTE (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • MELVIN E MONETTE (CEO): $134,490 total reported compensation
  • KELLY FAYARD (VICE CHAIR): $25,000 total reported compensation
  • CLINTON CARROLL (CHAIR): $25,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Providing elevated opportunities for native college students through empowering them with an impactful scholarship experience designed to support their success in higher education.

What it reported doing in 2025

For the year ended december 31, 2025, the organization provided 8,760,164 to 2,116 students to attend the 2025 spring, 2025 summer, and 2025 fall academic terms. Undergraduate level students comprised 1,820 of these scholars while graduate and professional students made up the other 296 scholars.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 89% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 37
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92.8%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 93.7%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 3rd 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: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.9%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.46; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.92; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.9% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 92.8% of revenue deployed · 93.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 3 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $9.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $134K · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2016 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 28/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 5/100.