The Samburu Project Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 203541982
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Phone
- 3108817265
- Rating
- 73
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- International Development
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $823,558
- Expenses
- $633,812
- Assets
- $530,514
- Liabilities
- $163,099
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LINDA HOOPER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- LINDA HOOPER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $129,304 total reported compensation
- VICTORIA PACOS (CORPORATE SECRETARY): $77,410 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To provide access to clean water and to continue to support well communities with initiatives that promote health, education, women's empowerment and general well-being. We collaborate with communities in developing countries to enhance men, women, and children's daily lives by providing resources that address immediate needs while promoting long term sustainability and self-sufficiency along with cultural integrity. The project is a community-based, grassroots organization working with the people of the samburu tribe in kenya's samburu east district, 425 kilometers north of nairobi. The project's primary focus is to provide clean, safe drinking water to communities as a foundation for further development. Since its inception in 2005, the project has drilled 165 wells, bringing clean, safe drinking water to over 100,000 people.
What it reported doing in 2024
Variety of educational programs that provide support to samburu children, including: school fees for five samburu elementary school students, mentorship and computer assistance to secondary school students seeking college scholarships.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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
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: 64
- Transparency & Controls: 80
- Accountability: 79
- Sustainability: 52
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 60.1%; rating input score 60
- Program expense ratio: 79%; rating input score 79
- Fundraising efficiency: $10.49 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 40; 40th 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: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Fail
- Conducts field audits: Fail
- May suspend future funding: Fail
- Requires financial reports: Pass
- Conducts site visits: Fail
- Requires grant agreements: Fail
- May require repayment: Fail
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 23%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.84; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.31; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 32.6%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5.4% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 1.4% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 60.1% of revenue deployed · 79% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 8 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $501K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $129K · 11 people listed
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $128K reported
- Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- 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: 6 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 40/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 37/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 24/100.