The Fregenet Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 611544897
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2014–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2012, Form 990-N 2007
- Location
- Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Phone
- 3109777382
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Primary, Elementary Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $29,914
- Expenses
- $33,639
- Assets
- $57,866
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
4 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Tafesse Woubseht (Board Director, President)
People named in this filing
- Elizabeth Asrat (Board of Director, Financial Officer)
- Shimelis B Gulema (Board Director, Secretary of the Board)
- Abdi Sherif Dr (Board Director & Fundraising Committee)
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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The Foundation is dedicated to creating educational opportunities for impoverished children in Ethiopia. The Foundation provides high quality early education as a means to overcome poverty, reduce gender inequality and more to disadvantaged children. The Fregenet Foundation set out to provide this by building schools that have lower teacher / student ratio (2 to 30) and provides everything for free (meals, uniform, books, education), including a free pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten program.
What it reported doing in 2024
The Fregenet Foundation's mission includes building schools that maintain smaller teacher-to-student ratios (2 to 30) and provide free education through Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten programs. Project 1: Bishoftu Elementary School Construction. The Foundation's first project focused on establishing a model school, Fregenet Dembi Elementary School, on a 12,000-square-meter plot in Bishoftu. Completed in 2022, the school features seven classrooms, each accommodating 30 students, covering levels from Preschool and Kindergarten 1-3 through Grades 1-4. Additional facilities include a library, computer lab, cafeteria, and clinic, addressing both the educational and social needs of local children. Fregenet Dembi Elementary School opened its doors to its first students in September 2022, reinforcing the Foundation's commitment to advancing education for Ethiopian children. Project #2: Addis Ababa Elementary School Construction. The second initiative, Fregenet Elementary School in Addis Ababa, expands educational opportunities for children from underprivileged communities. The school is being built on land provided free of charge by the Addis Ababa City Administration. Like the Bishoftu school, it will include seven classrooms with a capacity of 30 students each, serving Preschool, Kindergarten 1-3, and Grades 1-4. Planned facilities include a library, computer lab, cafeteria, and clinic. In January 2023, construction of a permanent fence was completed. To meet immediate needs, the Foundation, working with local stakeholders and partners, also built a temporary structure on the site. This facility, which will serve for the next five years, accommodates students from the former Fregenet Kidan Lehetsanat School, ensuring uninterrupted learning while the permanent school is under construction. The temporary classrooms, kitchen, teachers' rooms, play area, and other related facilities have now been completed.
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 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Revenue has declined or grown slowly and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 88
- Transparency & Controls: 83
- Accountability: 76
- Sustainability: 45
- Growth: 40
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 98.1%; rating input score 98
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- 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: -12.5%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.72; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -4% per year; rating input score 0; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -3% per year; rating input score 0; 26th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 98.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $33K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
- Consistency: 38 of 39 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- 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 — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 44/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 32/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grants require schedule f did not reconcile in the filed values.