JA Worldwide
Legal name: Ja Worldwide Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 273666259
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Boston, MA, USA
- Phone
- +1-617-315-8563
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $29,087,251
- Expenses
- $26,316,362
- Assets
- $25,755,608
- Liabilities
- $12,970,411
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
41 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ASHEESH ADVANI (PRESIDENT AND CEO)
- SIMISOLA NWOGUGU (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER - JAA)
Highest reported compensation
- ASHEESH ADVANI (PRESIDENT AND CEO): $771,429 total reported compensation
- ADNAN BOKHARI (CFO): $378,215 total reported compensation
- SIMISOLA NWOGUGU (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER - JAA): $317,809 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
JA Worldwide delivers hands-on, immersive learning in entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial health to young people, preparing them for meaningful work and community leadership.
What it reported doing in 2024
Ja worldwide supports members locations in 100+ countries through a unified strategic plan, global fundraising, management of our global brand, thought leadership, technology strategy and implementation, and the development of both traditional and digital learning experiences delivered each year. This year, ja worldwide was selected as one of the top ten global ngos by NGO advisor/thedotgood for the seventh year in a row and was nominated for the noble peace prize for the fourth straight year.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 84% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 43% for direct work, and 57% for grants.
The verdict
STRONG - 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: 76
- Transparency & Controls: 80
- Accountability: 98
- Sustainability: 47
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 76.9%; rating input score 77
- Program expense ratio: 84.3%; rating input score 84
- Fundraising efficiency: $14.17 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- 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: 99.2%; rating input score 99; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 96.9%; rating input score 97; 31st 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: 9.5%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.98; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.5; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 11.2%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 12.8% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 76.9% of revenue deployed · 84.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 31 of 32 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $22.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $771K · 41 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2M reported
- Consistency: 35 of 37 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 29 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 20 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 48/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 35/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 28/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.