Brackett Foundation
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Believing that the best hope for peace and happiness for mankind lies in education, we are dedicated to assisting refugees or displaced persons of any race,nationality, or creed to acquire an education. The focus is on refugees from Burma in Thailand, India,and Bangladesh.
- Income
- $471,719
- Spending
- $583,110
- Spent on programs
- 98%
- Reserves
- 36.1 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 98%
- Employees
- 0
- Volunteers
- 0
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
Good: 70 out of 100. Higher than 38% of charities in its peer group (international, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 36.1 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 0% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 24% of income.
Income trend
0 of 15Income fell 30% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1598% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 1 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
Good: 89 out of 100. Higher than 77% of charities in its peer group (international, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
25 of 256 of 8 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
0 of 7Reports no 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.
Independent check of accounts
12 of 15Its accounts were reviewed or compiled by an independent accountant, but not audited.
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 (4)
- $82,680 spent. Programs in Thailand - Scholarships: BREF distributed a total of 113 scholarships to High School, Vocational college and University students. 40 High School students received scholarships. With BREF's growing focus on Vocational and Technical education, 10 scholarships were awarded to students attending Phayao Technical College and 13 students at Maesot Technical College. We have also begun the process of interviewing candidates for scholarships at MaeSaring Vocational College. 50 university students received BREF scholarships in 2025. Majors included Public Health, Social Science and Sustainable Development, Education, English for International Communication among others. Our in-country coordinator for the scholarship programs in Thailand has revitalized the BREF Facebook page with updates on our activities and student accomplishments, identified candidates in line with BREF's mission and served as a contact and coordinator with other projects that BREF supports.
- $103,322 spent. Programs in Thailand Projects: BREF supports several projects that are devoted to helping refugees acquire education and skills in Thailand. Many of these are programs within refugee camps. In the Mae La Refugee camp we support a program linking English language students virtually with volunteer ESL teachers from all over the world for practice in conversational English as well as supporting computer programs. We continued our support of the Ban Nai Soi Community Learning Center in Mae Hong Son which helps students in a wide variety of ways including Thai language instruction and completion of high school requirements. We continued to support the migrant school at the Mae Tao Clinic. Successfully passing the American GED exam allows students who did not go to high school in Thailand qualify for university admission. In 2025 BREF supported 25 students at the BEAM Education Foundation in Chiang Mai to pay for the costs of the GED exams. BREF also continues to support a program in Bangkok that provides English and Thai instruction and basic computer skills to migrant Burmese workers. At the High school level, BREF contributes to Minmahaw High School in Mae Pa as it transitions from visiting volunteer teachers to full time local teachers. BREF also supports Mae Kwee High School on the border of Karen state in Myanmar and Thailand. BREF supported the school from 2003-2018 but as life became more stable in Karen state, the school closed in 2018. An increase in the refugee population after the 2019 military coup in Myanmar prompted the reopening of the school and renewed support from BREF. In 2025 BREF provided funding for 15 teachers at Mae Kwee School.Political unrest continues to challenge education for internally displaced students. Local communities have worked hard to keep their schools open and continue to work to overcome interruptions in their children's education. We supported 9 elementary and middle schools serving over 700 children in IDP areas where there is no support for education from the government. In the months since the coup, some of these schools temporarily closed or relocated due to government shelling. One of these is a unique animist school where Karen traditions are taught by elders from the community. BREF supported a new Food Security Project in 2025 for 3 middle schools and their villages. This two year project will establish vegetable gardens and orchards, irrigation systems and fencing in order to provide year round food security for the community.We continue to support Children On The Edge (COTE) who provides early childhood education for refugee children.
- $336,754 spent. Programs in Bangladesh: BREF supports educational assistance to over 7000 Rohingya children provided by Children On The Edge (COTE) in Kutupalaong refugee camp, the slums of Cox's Bazar, the Dohazari Enclaves, and Basan Char Island. COTE has had significant recent success developing a written script for Rohingya students in their native tongue. This generation will be the first Rohingya who will write in their native language. The Rohingya refugee population has been significantly impacted by the withdrawal of support from USAID and COTE finds greatly increased need for educational resources for the Rohingya community in Bangladesh.
- $47,949 spent. Programs in IndiaBREF distributed a total of 779 scholarships to support education for Chin refugees from Myanmar for the 2025/26 academic year. Most of the students live in the Indian state of Mizoram. Students' eligibility was based on the ability to show significant financial need, as well as academic ability and drive. Special focus was given during selection to students who have recently been displaced by the conflict in Myanmar. 441 scholarships were given to children from grades K to 7 whose parentsmany of whom have recently migrated from Myanmar and live in border areas or in Aizawlappreciate relief from the costs of textbooks, uniforms and exam fees. 186 scholarships were directed towards high school students (Grades 8 to 10), and 65 of these students are completing Grade 10 in 2026, becoming high school graduates. There were 100 university preparatory-level (Grades 11 and 12) scholarships distributed. 46 of these students are graduating from Grade 12 in 2026 and will be able to apply to university programs anywhere in India. BREF financially supported 52 students in their university studies. Students who were awarded these post-secondary scholarships would have been unable to--or would have found it highly difficult to--obtain the funds necessary to study at a university level. 17 of these university students (5 are Bachelor, 12 are Master) are graduating in the 2025/26 academic year.
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 October 13, 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 October 13, 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 October 13, 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 October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since February 1998.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 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 21, 2026.
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