Mariatu's Hope Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
464509400
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Lake Wales, FL, USA
Phone
8635587682
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$530,085
Expenses
$557,089
Assets
$294,125
Liabilities
$55,799

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROBERT D SEARCH (PRESIDENT/CE)

Highest reported compensation

  • RUTH E SEARCH (VICE PRESIDE): $73,320 total reported compensation
  • ROBERT D SEARCH (PRESIDENT/CE): $52,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Prepare & repair facilities for drinking water in sierra leone.

What it reported doing in 2025

Water projects: funds raised in the us from individual donors and other interested non-profit organizations have been sent to sierra leone for: 1. Rehabilitating exisitng hand dug water wells by opening them up, pumping them dry, inspecting the inside, constructing new casing, installing new casing inside the well, digging the well deeper with the help of local residents and a local group that assists. After deepening the well, a pad and wall are constructed and a new handpump is installed on the well. Then the well is shocked with chlorine to kill all bacteria and the water is tested to ensure it meets government standards. 2. Adding new water points (wells) using a deep rock drilling rig (more than 120 feet deep) using a specialized trained drilling team. 3. Purchasing and sending additional pumps for installation to sierra leone as well as parts to repair existing wells. There are trained local residents and missionary teams from the us for communities in need of safe water.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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 most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 55
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 21
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.2%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 71.6%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: -5.1%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.53; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.5%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.6% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 25.4% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 75.2% of revenue deployed · 71.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $399K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $73K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2015 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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 scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 19/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.