Maker Bhavan Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
822933252
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Palo Alto, CA, USA
Phone
6503466300
Rating
60
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Student Services, Organizations of Students

Reported finances

Revenue
$9,665,194
Expenses
$343,700
Assets
$9,968,547
Liabilities
$7,550

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Ruyintan Mehta (President)

People named in this filing

  • Subhash Tantry (Treasurer)
  • dr hemant Kanakia (Chairman)
  • Ashish Vengsarkar (Secretary)

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

To enable Stem Education in India to train students to be innovative and job-ready upon graduation. The foundation acts as a global resource for Indian engineering colleges to provide access to tools, equipment, financial resources, and knowledge so that the education imparted is more relevant and responsive to the real life needs of students and society at large.

What it reported doing in 2025

Tinkerers Labs are 24/7 student-managed academic makerspaces equipped with advanced fabrication tools (3D printers, CNC machines, laser cutters) that allow students to transition from theoretical concepts to real-world prototypes. MBF significantly accelerated its footprint in 2025. By the end of this reporting cycle, the foundation has established a total of 17 operational labs across India. A strategic priority was placed on less well-resourced institutions to democratize innovation. To date, over 100,000 students have benefited from the TL network.In 2025, MBF supported the establishment of 6 new labs namely - NIE Mysuru, IIT Jodhpur, Chitkara University, Ahmedabad University, and Prince Sri Venkateshwara Padmavathy Engineering College and College of Engineering Roorkee.The total cost of setting up these facilities in 2025 was USD 124,839.83In September 2025. MBF entered a landmark partnership with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and other collaborators to launch Project PRACTICE (Project for Advancing Critical Thinking, Industry Connect and Employability). This initiative aims to reach 1,000 Tier II and Tier III engineering colleges over three years, impacting 5 lakh+ students and 10,000+ faculty members. MBF serves as a key enabler by providing its proprietary Management Information System (MIS) for lab utilization and driving the "Innovation and Project-Based Learning" pillars of the program.

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 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 32
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 96
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 2.6%; rating input score 3
  • Program expense ratio: 60.3%; rating input score 60
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1,039.29 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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; 75th 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: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 96.4%; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 29; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -13.9% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 57.9% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 73.6% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 2.6% of revenue deployed · 60.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $207K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 3/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 8 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.