ZOE International

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
141862549
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Santa Clarita, CA, United States
Phone
661-255-7963
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Christianity
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,715,303
Expenses
$7,336,427
Assets
$6,774,307
Liabilities
$293,106

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LES GINOZA (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • MICHAEL HART (CHAIRMAN & CEO)
  • CAROL HART (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID COX (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $169,865 total reported compensation
  • LES GINOZA (VICE PRESIDENT): $152,544 total reported compensation
  • MICHAEL HART (CHAIRMAN & CEO): $141,099 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

REACHING EVERY PERSON. RESCUING EVERY CHILD. ZOE has partnered with the U.S. State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons through a 3-year, $500,000 grant for ZOE’s Enhanced Victim Protection Services program that has enabled ZOE to develop and implement a robust vocational program that prepares children for success in their areas of career interest and which has been cited by State Department inspectors as among the best they have seen. In addition, grant funds have been used to provide expert training for childcare providers at ZOE as well as 60 other agencies in a variety of subject areas. In Thailand ZOE has an active self-sustainability program on our 35-acre campus including organic crop production, orga.

What it reported doing in 2025

Advocacy and education through zoe's advocacy program, we serve children and families who have been impacted by human trafficking or are at high risk of trafficking. We are so thankful for our amazing partners who provide opportunities and experiences for the children we serve. Zoe has an advocacy services contract and a placement contract for zoe home for youth (zhy) with the county of los angeles (the county), department of children and family services (dcfs) and supports the dcfs in a variety of ways. (continued on schedule o)zoe supplies resources and gifts and assists in coordinating events for the trafficked children served by the county, as well as conducts human trafficking awareness and prevention events that provide information throughout the county. Engagement activities at the home, include trauma informed, arts-based activities teaching life skills and positive strategies to respond to life challenges. Zoe produces podcasts that we hope will educate the world about the issue of human trafficking. In our podcast "light in the darkness" we aim to shine the light on the issue of human trafficking by sharing honest stories of hope and by sharing practical advice that we hope will inspire others to fight for freedom. Zoe is also focused on education and development of knowledge. We create high-quality, educational brochures, videos, and other materials to educate the public about how to protect themselves and their communities from trafficking. Part of the restoration process for the older teens is giving them tools to be able to live a life outside of our home.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 82% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 63% for direct work, and 37% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 81
  • Sustainability: 25
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 95.7%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 87.5%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.07 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 13th 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: -9.2%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.92; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.9%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.5% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.3% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 5 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 95.7% of revenue deployed · 87.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 9 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $6.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $170K · 13 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 45/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.