The HALO Trust

Legal name: The Halo Trust (USA) Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
522158152
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
+1 (202) 331-1266
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Relief

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$97,207,878
Expenses
$97,641,299
Assets
$33,096,498
Liabilities
$644,965

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

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CHRIS WHATLEY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • JAMES COWAN (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • CHRIS WHATLEY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $211,825 total reported compensation
  • DIANA TATILI (HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT & COMMUNICATIONS): $199,300 total reported compensation
  • JENNIFER HYMAN (HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS): $128,580 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to protect lives and restore the livelihoods of those affected by conflict

What it reported doing in 2024

The organization provided grants to the halo trust (a charity registered in england and wales) to fund humanitarian response programs, including landmine clearance, destroying arms stockpiles to deter armed violence, restoring forests, and providing other environmental recovery services in conflict impacted communities. These programs were conducted in abkhazia, afghanistan, angola, armenia, cambodia, colombia, el salvador, ethiopia , great lakes region (kenya), guinea bissau, guatemala, , honduras, iraq, kosovo, laos, libya, malawi, mozambique, myanmar, nagorno karabakh, nigeria, solomon islands, somalia, somaliland sri lanka, syria, ukraine, united kingdom, west africa, west bank, yemen and zimbabwe. (continued in schedule o)in addition, halo USA hosted events and conducted public outreach in the united states to raise awareness on the impact of landmines on civilians around the world.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 61% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 95
  • Transparency & Controls: 69
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 97.1%; rating input score 97
  • Program expense ratio: 96.7%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: $83.87 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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; 77th 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; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: -0.4%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.34; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 15.2% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.5% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.1% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 8 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 10 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 97.1% of revenue deployed · 96.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $94.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $212K · 23 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $574K reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 25/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.