Koko AI Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
853604591
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
8312040115
Rating
62
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Mental Health Disorders

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,570,118
Expenses
$1,654,644
Assets
$1,417,330
Liabilities
$103,266

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Robert R Morris (President/Secretary/CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Sarah Diane Lee (CMO): $255,856 total reported compensation
  • Robert R Morris (President/Secretary/CEO): $172,219 total reported compensation
  • Kareem Kouddous (Treasurer/CTO): $49,320 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To make a population-level impact by reaching young people on the digital platforms they use every day, using technology and evidence-based tools to reduce suffering and promote flourishing for millions of people, especially underserved youth.

What it reported doing in 2025

Single Session InterventionsKoko's Single-Session Interventions (SSIs) are brief, structured, evidence-based mental health exercises designed to help individuals manage distress and access immediate support. Delivered through simple, self-guided online experiences that typically take less than 10 minutes to complete, these interventions are accessible without requiring login, sign-up, or transfer of personal data, reducing barriers to care for young people in need of support. During the year, Koko's SSIs addressed a range of mental health needs, including mental health first aid skills, mood regulation, cognitive reframing, body image and body neutrality, self-harm coping, and personalized safety planning. These interventions served as an early support bridge, helping users de-escalate distress, build practical coping skills, and connect to the appropriate level of care. In addition to measurable outcomes, the program's achievements included expanding access to evidence-based mental health support in a low-friction format, offering immediate help at moments of need, and strengthening users' sense of agency, resilience, and readiness to seek further support.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 97% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 63
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 44
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.1%; rating input score 71
  • Program expense ratio: 66.9%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.6 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 60%; rating input score 60; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 22
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -5.4%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.86; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 28.9%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 26.1% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 20% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 27.4% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 71.1% of revenue deployed · 66.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 5 board members independent · 2 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $256K · 6 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $113K reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 19/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 38/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 39/100.