United States Heartland China Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
201361557
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2018, Form 990-N 2011
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
9072190499
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Development

Reported finances

Revenue
$753,878
Expenses
$539,288
Assets
$486,018
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MIN FAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MIN FAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $94,000 total reported compensation
  • BOB HOLDEN (CHAIRMAN): $60,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

United states heartland china association (ushca) is committed to promoting a stable and productive u.s.-china relationship that serves the interests of our communities. Through people-to-people exchanges and substantive, issue-specific forums, we build bridges and promote opportunities between the peoples of the american heartland region and the people's republic of china so that: our farmers can continue to expand exports to china.our educational institutions can remain globally competitive and continue to attract the best talent from around the world, including china.our community leaders have the platforms to better understand and engage with china.our youth can have the opportunities to develop a global mindset through learning about china and its culture. Chinese americans in our region can continue to contribute to the success of our country and feel that they belong. Businesses invested in the u.s. Heartland can create and maintain jobs and remain competitive in the glob

What it reported doing in 2024

U.s.-china ag roundtable/heartland connect: this annual bilateral event was launched in 2021 and cultivates cooperation around agriculture, supporting one of the most significant agricultural trade relationships in the world. Over the past five years, it has grown into the broadest-based bilateral platform for u.s.-china agricultural exchange to address shared challenges such as global food security, sustainable agriculture, and climate resilience. Following two virtual dialogues during the pandemic, the roundtable took place in person in st. Louis in 2023 and was then hosted by shandong province, china in 2024. In 2024, major american agriculture players and producers of soy, rice, corn, sorghum, dairy, and beef from 9 different states were among those who traveled to china to participate. In 2025, due to trade tension, we rebranded and rescheduled the event in chicago as heartland connect with a focus on business exchanges. The program has also provided a platform for our organization to organize learning trips for the next generation of agricultural leaders. A total of 28 students from 18 states participated in future ag leaders delegations during the 20242025 period, with 9 students from 7 states joining the 2024 delegation, and 21 participants from 14 states represented in the 2025 delegation.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 55
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 62
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 54.3%; rating input score 54
  • Program expense ratio: 75.9%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • 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: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 28.5%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.9; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 28.6%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 47.1% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 20.6% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.5% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 54.3% of revenue deployed · 75.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 8 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $409K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $94K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 54/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 39/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.