Ukraine Global Scholars Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
810847939
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2021, Form 990-N 2017
Location
Boston, MA, USA
Phone
6172301213
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Reported finances

Revenue
$454,091
Expenses
$441,379
Assets
$306,696
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Yuliia Lemesh (Officer President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Yuliia Lemesh (Officer President): $68,269 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

UGS assists bright Ukrainian high school students from modest backgrounds in getting a world-class education abroad, in exchange for their commitment to returning to Ukraine and working there for at least five years. UGS aims to develop a new generation of Ukrainian leaders capable of creating a victorious and prosperous future in Ukraine today. Through mentorship, education, career guidance, and empowerment for Ukrainian youth, UGS seeks to scale its impact and generate a powerful ripple effect.

What it reported doing in 2024

Repatriation Program: includes summer internships and first-job placements in Ukraine, along with the Social Impact Internship Fund, which provides stipends and covers related expenses for students participating in unpaid internships. UGS has expanded the UGS Internship Program, which has been in place since 2017, into the UGS Repatriation program to help its students find summer internships in Ukraine and support their return to Ukraine after graduation. Over 50 students completed 60+ internships with 33 employers in 2024. These included for-profit companies like Civitta and Farmak, DIXI, EntroPi Ai, and Support Your App; nonprofits such as Ukrainer, Razom, Teach for Ukraine, and Superhumans Rehabilitation Center; and state institutions, including the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada, and Lviv City Council. To further strengthen the program and amplify its impact, UGS successfully piloted the UGS Social-Impact Internship Fund (SIIF), which provided financial assistance for unpaid or low-paying internships at high-impact organizations in Ukraine. The program helped students gain valuable professional experience, build local networks before graduation, and reconnect with their families. In 2024, five UGS students received monthly stipends through SIIF (up to $500/month for up to three months) and additional funding for travel expenses to and from Ukraine in 2024. This year's grantees interned at the Verkhovna Rada, Lviv City Council, Superhumans Rehabilitation Center, Nizhyn Youth Center, and Ukrainer.

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 100% 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 most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 55
  • Accountability: 78
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.2%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 79.4%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.51 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 21st 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: 2.8%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.69; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.5%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 34.9% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 33.3% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 27.4% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.2% of revenue deployed · 79.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $350K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $68K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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 scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 35/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 46/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.