RISE International

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
364435162
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Winnetka, IL, United States
Phone
(847) 977-2767
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
International Migration, Refugee Issues

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$366,225
Expenses
$355,410
Assets
$143,875
Liabilities
$4,971

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Lynn Cole (Executive Director)
  • Rachel Yantis (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Lynn Cole (Executive Director): $127,480 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

RISE builds primary schools in rural Angola to educate children, empower communities, and contribute to the rebuilding of the country. Every child has the right to education. The Civil War created a humanitarian disaster in Angola. Over 4 million people (a third of the population) were displaced and living in substandard conditions both within the country and in refugee camps in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Namibia and Botswana. With little or no access to medical care, water and food, the average life expectancy was less than 40 years of age. In 2001, the African Refugee Committee was formally established with the mission to provide relief, development and community care for Angolans living in refugee camps at Osire in Namibia and Nangweshi in Zambia. nangweshi-refugee-camp family-at-nangweshi.

What it reported doing in 2025

Angolan Programs - Every child has the right to education. RISE builds primary schools in rural Angola to educate children, empower communities, and contribute to the rebuilding of the country. RISE targets vulnerable and marginalized children, who would not otherwise have the opportunity to go to school. Since 2003, RISE has built 198 schools, giving over 144,000 children access to education each year. In 2025, RISE celebrated 22 years of building schools to give thousands of children access to education. RISE continued to develop strategic partnerships with Azule Energy, ExxonMobil, Governors, local administrations, and the Ministry of Education, which have allowed us to scale and multiply the impact - over $18.6 million has been contributed in Angola since 2012. US donors continue to invest generously, with broad and varied efforts, through school involvement, individual fundraisers, coin drives, golf events, Team RISE, brewery tours, fantasy football, benefits, and more. Schools at Canjala and Bela Vista were completed and handed over to the communities and Ministry of Education. Additionally, jobs were provided for building teams, principals, teachers, and staff.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 78% for direct work, and 22% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 81
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.6%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 77.9%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $15.76 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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: 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.4; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 35.9%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.9% per year; rating input score 0; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1% per year; rating input score 0; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: 75.6% of revenue deployed · 77.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $277K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $127K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 49/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 43/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 21/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.