International Fellowship of Evangelical Students

Legal name: International Fellowship of Evangelical Students USA Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
263538114
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2009
Location
Madison, WI, USA
Phone
6083486234
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Protestant
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,897,391
Expenses
$6,184,425
Assets
$2,431,842
Liabilities
$448,390

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KEVIN VAN HORNE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • KEVIN VAN HORNE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $125,403 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 vision of international fellowship of evangelical students USA, inc. (ifes/USA) is to see students built into communities of disciples, transformed by the gospel, impacting the university, the church, and society for the glory of christ.

What it reported doing in 2025

International fellowship of evangelical students/USA, inc. (ifes/USA) exists to build students into communities of disciples, which are transformed by the gospel. Ifes/USA seeks to impact the university, the church, and society for the glory of christ, introducing students to the gospel of christ, while engaging the broader higher education community in dialogue about the relevance of the gospel message and the christian life as a whole. Ifes/USA also exists to support, encourage, and facilitate the spread and growth of the christian faith throughout the world and to support other organizations, projects, and initiatives that are organized and operated for similar purposes. (continued on schedule o)our support includes granting funds to foreign organizations, projects and institutions with purposes similar to those of the ifes/USA for specific projects in furtherance of ifes/USA's christian religious tax-exempt purposes. We value working closely with christian student ministries that have a staff presence in specific regions and countries that are committed to strong governance development, leadership development, and skill building in areas of evangelism, scripture engagement, and development of local funding capacity.we also value working closely with christian student ministries that are active in pioneering student ministry on new campuses and in new countries.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 98% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 91
  • Transparency & Controls: 77
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 18
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 86.6%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $19.84 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Limited
    • Conducts field audits: Limited
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Limited
    • Requires grant agreements: Limited
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.2%; rating input score 99; 43rd 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: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -26.3%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.39; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.7% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 86.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $125K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 37 of 38 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and grants
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 59/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 12/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 37/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.