The Kilgoris Project
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 272021983
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2013–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Los Altos, CA, USA
- Phone
- 7193223506
- Rating
- 74
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- International Relief
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,191,770
- Expenses
- $1,230,268
- Assets
- $473,734
- Liabilities
- $3,629
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
13 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ZACH CARPENTER (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- ZACH CARPENTER (PRESIDENT): $120,008 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 kilgoris project educates and cares for school-aged children in rural kenya, partnering with the community to build rising futures.
What it reported doing in 2025
Kenyan operational expenses: the kilgoris project funded a range of expenses needed to carry out the work of the kenyan national staff. Expenses inclued: staff salaries and benefits, student feeding, classroom supplies, education and enrichment programs, student and community health programs, and community economic development efforts. The kilgoris project provided early childhood and primary education to 2,340 students in the trans mara area in western kenya. In support of the students at all 12 schools, the kilgoris project provided 869,500 meals, completed 1,500 sick visits, 5,904 menstration kits distributed, and treated 10 children with chronic or life-threatening diseases.100% of students received deworming, vitamin a supplements, and a health assessment.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 69% of its reported program spending out as 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: 79
- Transparency & Controls: 75
- Accountability: 70
- Sustainability: 28
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 86.2%; rating input score 86
- Program expense ratio: 83.3%; rating input score 83
- Fundraising efficiency: $8.5 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Claims monitoring procedures: Fail
- 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; 78th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -3.2%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.39; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 9.8%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 9.3% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7.3% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 86.2% of revenue deployed · 83.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 12 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $120K · 13 people listed
- Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 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.
- 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 8 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 30/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 22/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 19/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 38/100.