When I Grow Up Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
510657890
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2010, Form 990-N 2009
Location
Reedley, CA, USA
Phone
5596383435
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Relief

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$583,865
Expenses
$597,322
Assets
$275,452
Liabilities
$4,333

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GILBERT FOSTER (President)
  • TRACI PARKINSON (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • GILBERT FOSTER (President): $98,482 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Through effective global partnerships, we give people an opportunity to help the most vulnerable in society - children, especially poor and orphaned children. We strive to improve their quality of life and help them pursue their dreams through education.

What it reported doing in 2025

Provided hope through jesus, educational opportunities, school program funding, and food programs to feed poor and orphaned children of approximately 500 pre-kindergarten to grade 8 and 150 to 200 high school age students in kenya through furaha community foundation(a kenya NGO), approximately 350 preschool to sixth grade students in haiti through foundation bethesda center(an NGO in haiti), and approximately 150 children and their families in guatemala through esparanza para guatemala(an NGO in guatamala).

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 79% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 91
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 27
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.7%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 91.6%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $46.41 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 74; 74th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • 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: -2.3%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.46; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.5%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.8% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 93.7% of revenue deployed · 91.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $547K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $98K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 8 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 24/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 23/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 56/100.