The Giving Exchange
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 462898471
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2021–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2014
- Location
- Walnut Creek, CA, USA
- Phone
- 9254826459
- Rating
- 47
- Verdict
- MIXED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- International Relief
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $841,607
- Expenses
- $546,560
- Assets
- $2,390,655
- Liabilities
- $5,266
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
17 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MING RICHIE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
- ALISSA MICKES PELATON (VICE PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- MING RICHIE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $106,090 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The giving exchange provides business training and seed capital that equip local leaders to start and run self-sustainable microenterprises benefiting their community.
What it reported doing in 2025
Skills and business trainings: these programs in east africa provide comprehensive vocational training and entrepreneurship education to underserved communities. Through these initiatives, participants gain valuable skills in areas such as tailoring, basketry, plastic bottle brick making, welding, beauty, and hairdressing, coupled with training in business management, sales and marketing, and leadership skills. The programs aim to empower individuals with the tools and knowledge needed to start and sustain their own business, fostering long-term economic independence and sustainable community development.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 75% 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
MIXED - Program spending has grown recently and revenue comfortably covers expenses. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and a relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 48
- Transparency & Controls: 57
- Accountability: 10
- Sustainability: 74
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 46.9%; rating input score 47
- Program expense ratio: 59.9%; rating input score 60
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.52 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 18th 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: 37.1%; rating input score 37; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: Limited
- Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 35.1%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.37; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 19.4%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 23.4% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 21.8% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 39% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 46.9% of revenue deployed · 59.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 2 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $328K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $106K · 17 people listed
- Consistency: 20 of 21 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes foreign activity
- Filing history: 5 filing years from 2021 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 47/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 37/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 14/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.