Tilting Futures Incorporated
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 263161342
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2013–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- San Francisco, CA, USA
- Phone
- 4159639293
- Rating
- 74
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- International Academic Exchange
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $4,573,793
- Expenses
- $5,145,147
- Assets
- $10,708,655
- Liabilities
- $289,500
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
14 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Erin Lewellen (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- Erin Lewellen (CEO): $236,538 total reported compensation
- Elikem Archer (Chief Program Officer): $195,630 total reported compensation
- Aziza Musa (Chief External Affairs Officer): $179,403 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Tilting Futures is a nonprofit guided by a singular commitment: to provide young people with the tools needed to create positive change in themselves and the world around them. Thats why we lead immersive, experiential global learning programs for students ages 17-21 and work with education organizations to expand access to these opportunities. Since 2010, weve served 2500+ students representing 130+ countries through immersive learning programs. Now, were using our strengths in program design, educational partnerships and field-building to pioneer a scalable immersive learning program model aimed at transforming education beyond traditional classrooms.
What it reported doing in 2024
To date, Tilting Futures has supported 2,500 students from 130+ countries through our combined programming since 2010. Our newest program, Take Action Lab, has already hosted over 150 students from 50+ countries in Cape Town, South Africa, where students work side-by-side with local community leaders to protect and advance human rights. Our signature program, Take Action Lab, serves as an incubator for the next generation of changemakers. At our inaugural location in Cape Town, South Africa, students join a global cohort, gaining hands-on skills through apprenticeships with local nonprofit organizations advancing human rights. Notably, 98% improved in relating to diverse individuals, and 87% of students reported that Take Action Lab helped them develop and deepen their understanding of global issues.Expanding on our first successful semesters, we plan to add additional locations and themes for Take Action Lab. Having successfully proven the concept of Take Action Lab, Tilting Futures is now formalizing strategic partnerships to achieve its ultimate goal: institutions recognizing and integrating meaningful global immersion as a crucial component of higher education and professional pathways. For instance, in 2023, we established a formal partnership with African Leadership University (ALU), one of Africa's most innovative and esteemed higher education institutions. Through this partnership, ALU offers college credit to students participating in Global Citizen Years programs, representing a significant advancement in integrating immersive learning into global higher education.After completing Take Action Lab, our students are inducted into the alumni community where they go on to thrive in college and beyond leading lives that change the world for the better. Tilting Futures continues to provide opportunities, events, resources, mentorship and leadership development to our growing global alumni network.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 88% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 96% 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.
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: 70
- Transparency & Controls: 69
- Accountability: 94
- Sustainability: 34
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 79.8%; rating input score 80
- Program expense ratio: 69.8%; rating input score 70
- Fundraising efficiency: $5.89 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- 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; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -12.5%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.08; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 19.5%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 17.2% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 79.8% of revenue deployed · 69.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 9 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $237K · 14 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 6 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 21/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.