Geeks Without Frontiers
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
GEEKS' VISION AND MISSION IS TO BRING THE BENEFITS OF INTERNET CONNECTIVITY TO THE ESTIMATED 3.5 BILLION PEOPLE WHO REMAIN UNCONNECTED TO HELP CLOSE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE AND ACHIEVE THE UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS, INCLUDING IMPROVED STANDARDS OF HEALTH, EDUCATION AND SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC WELL-BEING.
- Income
- $1.5 million
- Spending
- $2.1 million
- Spent on programs
- 93%
- Reserves
- -5.4 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 92%
- Employees
- 4
- Volunteers
- 25
- Highest pay
- $245,000, coo
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: 30 out of 100. Higher than 3% of charities in its peer group (science, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
0 of 35Spendable reserves are negative: it owes or has committed more than it holds.
Debt
0 of 20It owes 508% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 35% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 22% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1593% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 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
Good: 78 out of 100. Higher than 32% of charities in its peer group (science, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
18 of 253 of 3 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
0 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 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 (3)
- $802,889 spent. N50 PROJECT - DIGITAL INCLUSION IN 2021 GEEKS LAUNCHED THE N50 PROJECT. THE N50 PROJECT ACCELERATES DIGITAL ADOPTION AND COMMUNITY ENRICHMENT THROUGH INNOVATIVE APPLICATIONS, NETWORK DESIGN, AND BUSINESS MODELS TO ENABLE THE NEXT 3 BILLION PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DIGITAL WORLD. BROADBAND ADOPTION WILL BE ACCELERATED AND SUSTAINED, GLOBALLY, THROUGH COMMERCIAL, NON-PROFIT GOVERNMENT, AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS. THE N50 FOCUSES ON TECH-NEUTRAL CONNECTIVITY, LITERACY, LANGUAGE, AND CONVENING PARTNERS TO DELIVER HUMAN-ENRICHING APPLICATIONS AROUND EDUCATION, HEALTHCARE, AGRICULTURE, AND LOCAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP. THE GEEKS WITHOUT FRONTIERS TEAM WORKS AS THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE FOR THE N50, WHERE WE PROVIDE PROJECT CURATION, DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT; MANAGEMENT AND EXECUTION OF THE STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION; FORMULATE PARTNERSHIPS; AND MORE. WITH OUR PARTNERS FROM PUBLIC, PRIVATE, NON-PROFIT, AND ACADEMIA, WE ARE DEVELOPING IMPLEMENTABLE PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS THAT FOCUS ON CONNECTIVITY OPTIONS, APPLICATIONS, AND SUSTAINABILITY. HERE ARE THE FIVE LARGEST N50 PROJECTS: SOLAR COMMUNITY HUBS TO INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES - SOLAR COMMUNITY HUBS IS AN INITIATIVE SUPPORTED BY DELL TECHNOLOGIES, AIMED AT INTRODUCING TECHNOLOGY TO COMMUNITIES LACKING DIGITAL ACCESS. EACH HUB, CRAFTED FROM REPURPOSED SHIPPING CONTAINERS WITH SUPPORT FROM N50 PARTNER (CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O, STATEMENT 1)
- $723,721 spent. INDIGENOUS RESILIENCE NETWORK/BROADBAND FOR TRIBES- GEEKS WITHOUT FRONTIERS CONTINUES TO PROVIDE FURTHER SUPPORT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INFRASTRUCTURE, ADOPTION OF APPLICATIONS, WORKFORCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TO BENEFIT THE COMMUNITIES AND SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS. THE GWF TEAM HAS BEEN ACTIVELY WORKING WITH MULTIPLE TRIBES WITH THEIR PLANS TO BUILD/EXPAND LONG-TERM SUSTAINABLE BROADBAND NETWORKS AND ADDRESS THE MANY IMPACTS OF DIGITAL DISPARITIES AMONG THE ALREADY MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES. THE STUDIES PROVIDED OPTIONS FOR THE DESIGN, PROCUREMENT, IMPLEMENTATION, AND LONG-TERM OPERATION OF BROADBAND NETWORKS OWNED AND OPERATED BY EACH TRIBE. THE SUMMARY STUDIES TOOK ACCOUNT OF KEY VARIABLES INCLUDING SPECTRUM, REGULATORY, POLICY, TECHNOLOGY, APPLICATIONS, USER DEMAND, COMPETITION, FINANCIAL MODELING, AND OTHER FACTORS. THESE STUDIES ALSO SHOW HOW THE NETWORKS CAN BE EXPANDED TO PROVIDE BROADBAND SERVICES FOR NEIGHBORING TOWNS AS WELL AS OTHER POTENTIAL CLIENTS. GWF RECOMMENDED TECHNOLOGY SELECTION PATH(S) AND ARCHITECTURE, MULTI-YEAR BUSINESS PLAN, ASSESSMENT OF THE APPLICABILITY FOR DEMAND AGGREGATION IMPLEMENTATIONS, USE OF SOURCES OF FUNDING, AND RECOMMENDED APPROACH TO ADDRESS RELEVANT LEGAL MATTERS LINKED TO THE BROADBAND NETWORK DEPLOYMENT. OUR TEAM IS CONTINUING TO WORK WITH THESE TRIBES AND ADDITIONAL TRIBES WITH PROVIDING FURTHER SUPPORT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF INFRASTRUCTURE, ADOPTION OF APPLICATIONS TO BENEFIT THE COMMUNITIES AND SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS.
- DIGITAL EQUITY INITIATIVE IN MARICOPA, ARIZONA-- SINCE AUGUST 2023, GWF HAS BEEN ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN PREPARING BROADBAND NETWORK DESIGNS AND STRATEGIES TAILORED TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF COMMUNITY ANCHOR INSTITUTIONS, PARTICULARLY IN COLLABORATION WITH SUN CORRIDOR NETWORK (SCN), INCLUDING THE CUSTOMIZATION OF A CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SYSTEM TO STREAMLINE INTERACTIONS. THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS CRM SYSTEM AIMS TO CENTRALIZE CONTACT MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATION WITH COMMUNITY ANCHOR INSTITUTIONS EFFECTIVELY. GWF CONDUCTS TARGETED OUTREACH EFFORTS WITHIN MARICOPA COUNTY TO IDENTIFY AND ASSESS COMMUNITY ANCHOR INSTITUTIONS ELIGIBLE FOR ENHANCED BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY, REFLECTING THEIR COMMITMENT TO EQUITABLE ACCESS TO DIGITAL RESOURCES. ADDITIONALLY, GWF SUPPORTS SCN IN NETWORK DESIGN PREPARATION THROUGH SITE SURVEYS, DATA ANALYSIS, DESIGN REQUIREMENT DEFINITION, PROPOSAL PREPARATION, AND FEEDBACK FACILITATION, COLLABORATING CLOSELY WITH SCN PARTNERS TO ESTABLISH KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIS) AND ALIGN STRATEGIES FOR DIGITAL EQUITY PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION. FURTHERMORE, GWF EXTENDS BROADBAND FUNDING OUTREACH BY ENGAGING WITH ALL PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCIES (PHAS) IN MARICOPA COUNTY, ASSESSING THEIR BROADBAND NEEDS AND (CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O, STATEMENT 2)
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 January 2016.
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.