School the World
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
SCHOOL THE WORLD IS COMMITTED TO SOLVING EXTREME POVERTY THROUGH THE POWER OF EDUCATION. USING A GRASSROOTS MODEL, WE UNITE COMMUNITY LEADERS, PARENTS, AND TEACHERS TO COMBAT FAILING SCHOOL SYSTEMS, IMPROVE LEARNING OUTCOMES, AND DISRUPT GENERATIONAL POVERTY.
- Income
- $3.0 million
- Spending
- $3.1 million
- Spent on programs
- 87%
- Reserves
- -1.5 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 100%
- Employees
- 5
- Volunteers
- 5
- Highest pay
- $188,004, founder & ceo
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Weak: 40 out of 100. Higher than 5% of charities in its peer group (philanthropy, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
0 of 35Spendable reserves are negative: it owes or has committed more than it holds.
Debt
2 of 20It owes 75% of what it owns.
Living within its means
8 of 15Spending exceeded income by 0% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 43% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1587% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 1 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 65% of charities in its peer group (philanthropy, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2512 of 12 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, 2024, 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)
- $1.7 million spent. COMMUNITY PRIMARY SCHOOLS & LEARNING RECOVERYCREATING SAFE AND ENGAGING LEARNING SPACES AND EDUCATION THROUGH PROVEN METHODOLOGY. OUR FOUR-PILLAR PRIMARY SCHOOL MODEL ENSURES THAT CHILDREN NOT ONLY ATTEND SCHOOL BUT THRIVE. THIS PARTNERSHIP INITIALLY BEGINS WITH THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF VITAL CONCRETE CLASSROOMS THROUGH A 50 / 50 COST SHARING MODEL WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. THIS MODEL ALSO ADDRESSES LONG TERM SUSTAINABILITY IN SCHOOL THE WORLD'S STRATEGY. OUR FIELD STAFF THEN IMPLEMENTS WRAP AROUND PROGRAMMING, SPANNING 5 YEARS, THAT FOCUSES ON PARENT EMPOWERMENT, TEACHER TRAINING, BOOKS AND LEARNING MATERIALS, AND PLAY. TO DATE, 161 SCHOOLS AND 91 PLAYGROUNDS HAVE BEEN BUILT WITHIN RURAL GUATEMALA, HONDURAS AND PANAMA. IN 2024, 31 NEW COMMUNITIES AND 5-YEAR PARTNERSHIPS WERE ESTABLISHED. THIS MODEL ALSO INCLUDES OVER 12,000 ACTIVE PARENTS, 8,275 TEACHERS AND OVER 15,000 STUDENTS. 945 LIBRARIES HAVE ALSO BEEN CREATED HOUSING 66,489 BOOKS. IN 2022,THE ORGANIZATION ADDED ITS ACCELERATED LEARNING RECOVERY PROGRAM TO OUR CORE COMMUNITY SCHOOL PROGRAMMING. THIS ADDITION HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF THE 100 MOST IMPACTFUL EDUCATION INTERVENTIONS IN THE WORLD BY HUNDRED.ORG-FOCUSES ON STUDENTS MOST AFFECTED BY THE PANDEMIC'S IMPACT ON EDUCATION. TRAINED COMMUNITY-BASED TUTORS HAVE WORKED WITH OVER 7,300 STUDENTS IN GUATEMALA, HONDURAS, AND PANAMA. USING PLAY-BASED, SMALL GROUP SESSIONS, THEY HELP CHILDREN REGAIN LOST SKILLS IN READING AND MATH.
- $614,458 spent. STUDENT SERVICE LEARNING PROGRAMEMPOWERING THE NEXT GENERATION THROUGH SERVICE LEARNING. FOR MORE THAN A DECADE, SCHOOL THE WORLD'S IMMERSIVE STUDENT SERVICE LEARNING PROGRAM HAS PROVIDED HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM ACROSS THE UNITED STATES WITH A LIFE-CHANGING OPPORTUNITY TO STEP INTO COMMUNITIES IN GUATEMALA, PANAMA, AND HONDURAS, WORK ALONGSIDE LOCAL FAMILIES, AND ACTIVELY BUILD SCHOOLS THAT WILL SERVE FUTURE GENERATIONS. THESE TRANSFORMATIONAL EXPERIENCES DO MORE THAN CREATE CLASSROOMS AND PLAYGROUNDS-THEY BUILD EMPATHY, GLOBAL AWARENESS, AND LIFELONG CONNECTIONS. BY STEPPING OUTSIDE THEIR COMFORT ZONES, STUDENTS DEVELOP A DEEP APPRECIATION FOR SERVICE, SEEING FIRSTHAND HOW THEIR WORK IMPACTS CHILDREN, FAMILIES, AND ENTIRE COMMUNITIES. IN 2024, 212 STUDENTS ACROSS 9 STATES CONSTRUCTED TWELVE CLASSROOMS AND FIVE PLAYGROUNDS. THE LEGACY OF THIS IMPACT SPANS 1,314 ALL TIME HIGH SCHOOL PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE FUNDED AND BUILT 67 SCHOOLS AND 41 PLAYGROUNDS.
- $171,291 spent. LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOLEXPANDING EDUCATIONAL ACCESS. FOR MANY STUDENTS, CONTINUING THEIR EDUCATION PAST SIXTH GRADE IS NOT AN OPTION DUE TO FINANCIAL OR GEOGRAPHICAL BARRIERS. TO ENSURE THAT STUDENTS HAVE A PATH FORWARD TO CONTINUE THEIR EDUCATION, SCHOOL THE WORLD OFFERS SCHOLARSHIPS TO TRADITIONAL SECONDARY SCHOOLS (7TH, 8TH, AND 9TH GRADES) AND ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOR WORKING YOUTH TO CONTINUE THEIR EDUCATION WITH INDEPENDENT STUDY AND CLASSES ONCE PER WEEK. OUR TEAM ALSO WORKS WITH THESE STUDENTS THROUGH A SERIES OF TRAININGS AND MENTORSHIPS FOCUSED ON LIFE SKILLS. TO DATE, THE DROPOUT RATE OF STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN THESE OPPORTUNITIES IS 4.8%. SCHOOL THE WORLD RESERVES 70% OF SCHOLARSHIPS TO TRADITIONAL SECONDARY SCHOOLS FOR GIRLS, ENSURING GREATER GENDER EQUITY. BY THE END OF 2024, 959 MIDDLE SCHOOLS SCHOLARSHIPS HAVE BEEN AWARDED AND 1,403 ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION STUDENTS ENROLLED.
- $180,777 spent. CORPORATE SERVICE TRIPSA TRANSFORMATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN GIVING BACK. FOR THE PAST SEVEN YEARS, SCHOOL THE WORLD'S CORPORATE SERVICE PROGRAM HAS PROVIDED PROFESSIONALS WITH AN OPPORTUNITY TO STEP OUTSIDE THEIR DAILY ROUTINES AND IMMERSE THEMSELVES IN A HIGH-IMPACT, HANDS-ON SERVICE EXPERIENCE. THESE TRIPS TRANSCEND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) INITIATIVES-THEY ARE DEEPLY MOVING JOURNEYS THAT FOSTER LEADERSHIP, TEAMWORK, AND GLOBAL AWARENESS WHILE MAKING A TANGIBLE, LASTING IMPACT ON COMMUNITIES IN GUATEMALA, HONDURAS,AND PANAMA. PARTICIPANTS RETURN TO THEIR PROFESSIONAL LIVES NOT ONLY WITH STRONGER BONDS WITH THEIR COLLEAGUES BUT ALSO WITH A PROFOUND APPRECIATION FOR THE POWER OF EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY-DRIVEN CHANGE. IN 2024, 28 PARTICIPANTS FROM 6 COMPANIES CONSTRUCTED TWO CLASSROOMS AND A PLAYGROUND IN NGBE BUGL, PANAMA. TO DATE, OVER 142 CORPORATE PARTICIPANTS HAVE WORKED ALONGSIDE LOCAL FAMILIES TO CREATE LASTING EDUCATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE.EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMLAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR LEARNING. LAUNCHED IN 2020 IN GUATEMALA, OUR EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAM ENSURES THAT CHILDREN AGED 0 TO 6 YEARS DEVELOP ESSENTIAL COGNITIVE, MOTOR, AND LANGUAGE SKILLS TO BE READY FOR FIRST GRADE. THIS PROGRAM IS MANAGED THROUGH A COMMUNITY-BASED APPROACH WHERE PARENTS, COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS, AND LOCAL LEADERS PLAY A KEY ROLE IN DESIGNING THE PROGRAM'S IMPLEMENTATION. SELECTED COMMUNITY MEMBERS RECEIVE TRAINING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT AND PARENTS ATTEND BI-MONTHLY TRAININGS TO SUPPORT THEIR CHILD'S EARLY LEARNING. SCHOOL THE WORLD ALSO TRAINS PREPRIMARY TEACHERS TO DEVELOP CRITICAL PRE-LITERACY SKILLS. IN 2024, THIS PROGRAM EXPANDED INTO HONDURAS AND HAS IMPACTED 2,298 CHILDREN BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES. GENERAL PROGRAM EXPENSESSCHOOL THE WORLD'S GENERAL PROGRAM EXPENSES INCLUDE KEY OPERATING EXPENDITURES REQUIRED FOR EXECUTING OUR MISSION AND EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES AND ARE NOT DIRECTLY TIED TO ONE SPECIFIC PROGRAM. THIS INCLUDES, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO, SCHOOL AND PLAYGROUND CONSTRUCTION COSTS, REGIONAL AND COUNTRY-SPECIFIC MANAGEMENT POSITIONS, ASSOCIATED TRAVEL AND OVERSIGHT EXPENSES, OFFICE RENT AND SUPPLIES.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, 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 2024.
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 September 2009.
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.
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.