Mission Santa Maria Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
TO HELP AND SUPPORT THE YOUTH OF ECUADOR.
- Income
- $899,258
- Spending
- $654,718
- Spent on programs
- 73%
- Reserves
- 13.6 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 100%
- Employees
- 0
- Highest pay
- $27,450, president
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
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 85% of charities in its peer group (education, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 13.6 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 1% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 27% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 30% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1573% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 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: 88 out of 100. Higher than 79% of charities in its peer group (education, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
18 of 254 of 4 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
0 of 5Reports no independent review process for its chief executive's pay.
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)
- $475,495 spent. Mission Santa Maria is dedicated to helping impoverished, abused, and neglected Ecuadorian children receive high quality education. For over 17 years we have partnered with local organizations to create a santuary for children living in extreme poverty and vulnerability. We believe that alleviating poverty begins with faith and love and continues through education, conmbined with long-term challenge and support into professional and family life. Our programs include Esperanza Home for Children, a residential foster home; Santa Maria del Fiat, a K-12 semiprivate school, and Post High School opportunities. Our goal is that the care and holistic education children receive through these programs will lift them out of poverty and into dignified, sustainable livelihoods. All children placed in Esperanza Home for Children arrive after surviving abuse or neglect and remain there until they can safely return to their families, live with relatives, or are adopted. Children may live at Esperanza until age eighteen. The home is run by missionary sisters who have dedicated their lives to creatiing a safe, loving environment while providing daily meals, clothing, medical care, education, and emotional support. An onsite team of psychologists and social workers further support each childs healing and development. Above all, the consistent love and care provided by the sisters is the most important factor in the childrens recovery and progress. Mission Santa Maria partners with Esperanza Home to cover the full cost of education for every child living at the home, including school tuition, uniforms, and school supplies. Some children arrive having never attended school. To support their education, Mission Santa Maria provides totors and homeschooling support until they are ready to enter Santa Maria del Fiat School. We also fund additional staff and special projects to alleviate caregiver burden and ensure children receive individualized attention. Mission Santa Maria maintains an emergency food fund to guarantee that children always have access to meals and respond to urgent needs as they arise. In 2025, Mission Santa Maria expanded its support at Esperanza Home by funding school tuition, uniforms, and school supplies for 70 children. We supported six staff members serving the home, including tutors and kitchen and laundry staff to ensure childrens daily needs and educational progress were met. Mission Santa Maria continued and strenghthened its emergency food fund, which was expanded in 2024, ensuring food security for the children throughout the year. We also funded extracurricular activities for children at the home, recognizing the critical role that play, movement, and structured activities have in trauma recovery, confidence building and healthy development. Santa Maria del Fiat is a semiprivate preschool through secondary school that has served the surrounding community for 27 years and is widely regarded as one of the best schools in Santa Elena Province. The school educates over 1,200 students, some of whom travel up to 90 minutes one way by bus each day to attend. Mission Santa Maria has been a longtime partner of Santa Maria del Fiat, providing scholarships for children whose families cannot afford the $25 per month tuition. In addition to scholarships, Mission Santa Maria provides general operating support to help the school remain financially viable. As a semiprivate school, the government pays most teacher salaries but also mandates tuition limits, staffing requirements, and minimum salaries. These regulations create a structural deficit, making it impossible for the school to cover operating costs through tuition alone. Mission Santa Maria helps cover this deficit to ensure the school remains open and continues serving vulnerable families. We are also deeply invested in maintaining and improving the quality of education offered at the school. In 2025, Mission Santa Maria significantly expanded support at Santa Maria del Fiat in response to the deterioration of the local economy and its impact on families. The number of students receiving full scholarships increased to 270 students. We funded computer classes and a new computer lab, expanding students access to essential digital skills. Mission Santa Maria supported four English teachers, increasing total English instructional hours during the school day and piloting a new after-school English program to further strengthen language acquisition. The Scholarship PLUS Program was expanded to provide monthly food and bus fare support to 42 families, addressing ongoing food insecurity and the costs of getting children to school. Additionally, Mission Santa Maria equipped 161 students with school supplies, textbooks, and uniforms to ensure students could fully participate in school without added financial strain on their families. Mission Santa Marias Post-High School Opportunities Program is designed to ensure that students not only graduate but sucessfully transition into dignified, stable employment. Through partnerships with universities and industry leaders, we support students pursuing higher education, technical training, and workforce-ready careers. In 2025, Mission Santa Maria celebrated a major milestone; the first graduating class of the two-year Mechatronics Engineering Program. All five graduates were hired immediaately upon completion of the program, demonstrating the strength of the training and the alignment with local labor market needs. We currently support six additional students enrolled in the Mechatronics Engineering Program. In response to workforce demand and the need to expand employment opportunities for young women, Mission Santa Maria also launched a professional driving program in 2025. This pilot program supports six young women as they work toward professional driving licenses, with the goal of securing employment operating heavy equipment at regional shipping ports by the end of 2026. Across all post-secondary ini
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 November 6, 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 December 2009.
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 November 4, 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.