Kizuna Across Cultures
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
To inspire youth in Japan and the US to look beyond their communities embrace diversity and become active global citizens by fostering international friendship through exchange of culture and collaborative learning via an educational exchange website.
- Income
- $251,734
- Spending
- $152,143
- Spent on programs
- 84%
- Reserves
- 17.6 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 64%
- Employees
- 0
- Volunteers
- 10
- Highest pay
- $32,808, executive director and co-founder
Source: Form 990 for the year ending March 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 87% of charities in its peer group (international, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 17.6 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 0% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 40% of income.
Spending floor
15 of 1584% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 7 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending March 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Weak: 49 out of 100. Higher than 21% of charities in its peer group (international, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
18 of 253 of 3 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
0 of 15Reports no written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
0 of 8Reports no 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.
Pay set independently
0 of 5Reports no independent review process for its chief executive's pay.
Independent check of accounts
6 of 15Its accounts were not audited or reviewed 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 March 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 (3)
- $86,901 spent. Kizuna Across Cultures facilitated the six month bilingual and virtual exchange program Global Classmates for high school students across Japan and the U.S. from September 2024 to February 2025. Since 2011 Global Classmates has connected over 20,600 students from the U.S. and Japan. In the programs 13th year we connected 2,100 students from 79 high schools in Japan and the U.S.. We successfully delivered another year of high-quality collaborative online international learning experience as reflected in the exit survey with 97% of the students and 99% of the teachers reporting satisfaction with the program. Building on last years curriculum upgrade this year we continued to emphasize not just improving language skills and cultural understanding but also on fostering intercultural competence-the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately with people from different backgrounds build meaningful relationships and collaborate across cultures. This year many school pairs conducted live video exchanges more than once during the program. These real-time conversations significantly deepened students sense of connection with their peers which in turn sparked greater enthusiasm for the regular asynchronous exchanges written exchanges with time difference. This positive cycle created a strong mutually reinforcing impact on student engagement. In recent years generative AI technologies such as ChatGPT have made language translation significantly easier. However we believe there are still essential human abilities that AI cannot replace: the capacity to connect with people from different backgrounds build mutual understanding and develop trust. Students participating in the program shared reflections such as: No matter how different we are its important to keep talking while respecting each other When you engage with genuine curiosity its possible to build meaningful relationships and Its crucial to communicate with an understanding of different values. These comments show that through their experiences students developed both the mindset and skills needed to build relationships and collaborate with people from different cultures and backgrounds. At KAC our goal has never been just about language acquisition. Instead weve continued to evolve the Global Classmate program to help students see and connect with the broader world and the future that lie beyond language. That said bringing this vision to life in real classrooms requires steady effort and thoughtful innovation. We are grateful for the teachers who have shared our vision and worked alongside us to make this program possible. We believe that the experiences and lessons students gained through Global Classmate will reach far beyond U.S.-Japan relations and prove valuable across many areas of their future lives. This program has offered students with a meaningful first step and we sincerely hope they will carry what theyve learned here forward with confidence and a sense of purpose.
- $30,796 spent. The Global Classmates Summit is a summer program facilitated by Kizuna Across Cultures KAC that brings together Japanese and American high school students who hold the potential to influence and lead in diverse communities in the future. Through a wide variety of activities the students deepen their understanding of one another and develop friendships while fostering their skills to promote mutual understanding and cooperation between Japan and the U.S. as well as the broader international community. In its eighth year Kizuna Across Cultures selected sixteen outstanding students eight from the U.S. and eight from Japanfrom a pool of 2,190 students who participated in the 2023-24 Global Classmates virtual program. To reflect the increasingly diverse areas of cooperation between Japan and the U.S. we aimed to form a group of participants that are rich in diversity in terms of attributes strengths and fields of interest. Since the Summits launch in 2017 until the third year it was held as an in-person event in Washington DC; however due to the global pandemic it has been a virtual program since 2020. For this years Summit students met for three to four hours a day over the course of twelve days from late July to mid-August for online activities. The students participated in various activities including team building exercises meetings with leaders in U.S.-Japan relations and workshops led by international experts. Through these experiences they broadened their perspectives and deepened their knowledge on topics including cross-cultural understanding U.S.-Japan relations international business climate change diversity and cultural competence media literacy and the role of citizen diplomacy. At the Summit in addition to learning from mentors we place great value on fostering a peer learning community where students can learn from each other. By providing positive feedback to one another making valuable contributions in discussions stepping out of their comfort zones to be the first to share their opinions and feelings and encouraging others to participate they developed skills and mindsets essential for cross-cultural collaboration. During the webinar event on the final day one high school teacher who observed their students presentation remarked I was shocked by their growth in such a short period. With hopes that this Summit will serve as a stepping stone for them to emerge as the next generation of leaders KAC looks forward to continuing our support for these new members of theSummit alumni network.
- $9,657 spent. In 2021 KAC launched the Global Classmate Community to provide ongoing support to participants who graduated from the Global Classmate program. This community aims to support young people who wish to enrich their academic career and personal lives by incorporating international perspectives and opportunities. This year we held three online webinars. Two of the webinars were co-hosted with the Embassy of Japan in the United States focusing on career opportunities related to Japan and studying abroad in Japan for Americans learning Japanese. Each webinar attracted over 300 participants highlighting a strong interest in the Japanese language and culture. In the future we plan to provide more information on practical steps to support career development.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending March 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 March 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 July 2013.
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.
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.