Kidz at Heart International
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
Points to look into
- It owes more than it owns.
These come from the organization's own tax return. There may be a good explanation; ask the charity.
What it says it does
KidZ at Heart International is a global Christian community that trains, partners with, and mobilizes networks of leaders to help children fall deeply in love with Jesus. We train and partner with churches and families to successfully disciple the children of their homes and communities into fully devoted followers of Christ. Training events are conducted in over 50 countries around the world including the U.S. These are facilitated through the mobilization of training trip teams, in-country trainers, and partnerships with local and global ministries and organizations.
- Income
- $891,463
- Spending
- $949,135
- Spent on programs
- 84%
- Reserves
- -1.7 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 91%
- Employees
- 19
- Volunteers
- 11
- Highest pay
- $90,000, chief executive officer
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Weak: 29 out of 100. Higher than 3% of charities in its peer group (religion, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
0 of 35Spendable reserves are negative: it owes or has committed more than it holds.
Debt
0 of 20It owes 108% of what it owns.
Living within its means
4 of 15Spending exceeded income by 6% of income.
Income trend
10 of 15Income fell 6% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1584% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 5 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 98% of charities in its peer group (religion, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
25 of 256 of 7 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (1)
- $794,580 spent. KidZ at Heart International avoids the unintended consequences that result from well-intentioned international children's programs by equipping local leaders to work with the children of their own communities using the resources readily available to them. By doing this, we avoid creating dependency on western resources, we leave local leaders with skills they can continue using and reproduce in others, and we lift up those most likely to impact children - the families and church leaders who love them and live with them daily. The unique KidZ at Heart training plan has been used to train children's ministry workers in over 50 countries, including the U.S. and is called Transforming KidZ Ministry Training. In 2025, our national training networks conducted training in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Guyana, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Sudan, Egypt, Philippines, Mongolia, Thailand, and Nepal. Over 3200 participants attending the training around the world with 95 completing all 8 modules of our Transforming KidZ Ministry Training and over 72 completing our Great Trainer Summit.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since June 2003.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
Could it be confused with another charity? Worth knowing.
A much larger organization has a similar name: Heart to Heart International Inc (Lenexa, KS), EIN 48-1108359. If that is the one you meant, check the EIN before giving.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.