Looma Education Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
843424916
IRS 990 coverage
2025–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2024, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Menlo Park, CA, USA
Phone
6503805008
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$382,153
Expenses
$399,825
Assets
$111,046
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

People named in this filing

  • Edward P Stritter (Board Chair and Technical Director)
  • Owen David Sowerwine (CFO and Board Member)
  • John L McDonnell (Board Member)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

We create technologies to improve lives in developing countries. Since 2012 we have focused on a specific goal--to create a system that can provide good educational material effectively for students and teachers in schools that are really under-resourced--those that lack reliable power, Internet, adequately trained teachers, sufficient funds and are often in remote locations that are difficult to support. We are developing this solution for Nepal, but Nepal is not alone in facing these barriers. The Looma system is open-source, so may be adopted and 'localized' to the needs of any country.

What it reported doing in 2025

During 2025 the number of schools equipped mostly by LEC increased to 85, with around 20 more arranged by other non-profits and the US Peace Corps. Among these, three schools were fully equipped with all teachers trained to use Looma. These "Lead Schools" have the outreach responsibility for the other public schools in their community, with commitment and assistance by their local government agencies and community organizations. This mode of scaling Looma engages directly the local entities in a manner that will establish the practices needed by the government to broadly scale the system as/when it is adopted for general use. Elsewhere, nearly all the schools with one Looma have been retrofitted to have an independent solar system and a white board to ensure no power interruptions and improve the user interface.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 88% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 45
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Fail
    • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -4.6%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.28; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 42.7% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 37.5% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 6 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $400K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 41 of 42 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 8 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 26/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.