Samu Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
814198808
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2026994860
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and Fund Distribution

Reported finances

Revenue
$19,746,770
Expenses
$13,943,235
Assets
$8,553,436
Liabilities
$1,567,669

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CARLOS GONZALEZ-ESCALADA (CEO OF SAMU FIRST RESPONSE)

Highest reported compensation

  • ANDREA GALLEGOS-MONTILLA (MANAGING DIRECTOR): $132,026 total reported compensation
  • LAURA STEPHANADIS (DEPUTY DIRECTOR): $115,691 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Samu foundation is dedicated to providing urgent and empowering humanitarian support to the most vulnerable populations during national and international crises.

What it reported doing in 2024

Welcome respite : in 2024, samu provided humanitarian assistance in the form of food, temporary respite, clothing, access to hygiene facilities and supplies, referrals, and support to vulnerable individuals and families through several streams of funding, including dc department of human services (oms), Maryland department of human services (mora), and montgomery county (oemhs). In total, 10,304 people were served.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 76% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 64
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 64.1%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 91.2%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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; 66th 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: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 29.4%; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.61; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.8%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 75.4% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 86.8% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 90.2% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 64.1% of revenue deployed · 91.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $12.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $132K · 6 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $5.6M reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 21/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.