Helping Children Worldwide Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Helping Children Worldwide works with local partners in strong collaborations and brings resources and capacity-buillding assistance to partners so they may address the root causes of child poverty and child mortality in their community.
- Income
- $1.0 million
- Spending
- $959,097
- Spent on programs
- 75%
- Reserves
- 2.3 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 80%
- Employees
- 6
- Volunteers
- 40
- Highest pay
- $110,863, executive director
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: 75 out of 100. Higher than 50% of charities in its peer group (youth development, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
10 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 2.3 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 13% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 7% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 10% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1574% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 12 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
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 64% of charities in its peer group (youth development, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 259 of 9 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, 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)
- $180,428 spent. Child Welfare and Child Reintegration Centre - The Organization provides support in Sierra Leone for aid to young women, children and families suffering from extreme poverty and continued to provide primary financial support for the Child Reintegration Centre ("CRC") in Sierra Leone. The Organization assisted in the launch of an in-country network of NGOs supporting orphans and vulnerable children in Sierra Leone, acting as the Secretariate, and provided the network with resources such as an internet-based storage drive, website, and email.The collaboration between the Organization and CRC offers direct services to children and families in one of the most impoverished regions of the world, and provides training, coaching and mentoring services to child welfare agencies in Sierra Leone and West Africa to change their service model to family support work. In Sierra Leone, almost 60% of the population lives below the national poverty line, while 13% lives in extreme poverty. More than 60% of the population lack adequate food, and close to 40% lack access to safe water. More than a quarter of all children under age five are malnourished. Because of CRC programs, over 1,600 children and 429 families were supported during 2024.
- $184,445 spent. Global Health and Mercy Hospital - The shared mission of Mercy UMC Hospital ("Mercy") and the Organization is to improve infant and maternal mortality rates in Sierra Leone by providing holistic, community-focused care, regardless of ability to pay. Maternal health is a crucial element of poverty and child mortality. Mercy is a 50-bed facility with a trained and dedicated medical staff including a full-time doctor, a medical laboratory, a research laboratory, a fully stocked pharmacy on-site, an HIV/Aids clinic, and a surgical wing with two operating theatres. As of October of 2024, between malaria clinics (7705), nutrition clinics (1353), hospital admissions and hospital outpatient services (2838), aids clinics (5945) and prenatal clinics (1167), Mercy Hospital and Mercy Outreach were able to provide medical and diagnostic services to 19,008 patients in Bo and 45 surrounding villages in the District of Bo. Mercy's outreach into the surrounding villages includes nutrition clinics and treatment provided for malnourished infants, prenatal care and education, malaria testing and treatment, diarrhetic disease diagnosis and treatment, and HIV/AIDS testing and counseling, as well as support for basic health needs in clean water and sanitation.Following up on the Organization's Together for Global Health conference in 2023, members from the network of practitioners across the globe collaborated on development of a new training program in Sierra Leone for maternal/infant health practitioners. 100 midwives and nurses were trained in multiple curricula. The training brought together universities, NGOs, private business, government and health practitioners from many countries, a unique approach, and certified local midwives and nurses to be master trainers, in line with the Organization's empowerment approach to global development. The Organization's global health technical advisor and her global health intern evaluated outcomes and produced a baseline report. The network agreed to bring the training back each year until the training has been presented in every district and began planning for future trainings.The Organization held trips for the first time to several countries where member organizations from HCW's Together for Global Health network are located, engaging in maternal health conferences.
- $323,841 spent. Empowerment programs and economic strengthening - The Organization's United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) teams are comprised of individuals who are trained and then travel to Sierra Leone to volunteer at CRC and Mercy Hospital. Over the years, teams have engaged in a wide variety of service projects to support the lives of children and their families, including medical and dental clinics, construction projects, teacher training collaborations, and capacity building work with local leadership. Three Village Partnerships were active during 2024, funding the construction of basic community infrastructure, providing medical and nutrition clinics for children and mothers, and supporting family strengthening services to villages through Mercy Hospital, mission team volunteers overseen by the medical staff and mission partnership liaison at the Missionary Training Centre and by Child Reintegration Centre case managers and social workers, and various contractors in Sierra Leone. The Organization's professional staff provided direct support on the ground and via remote collaborations. The Organization continued to build the capacity of the CRC and Mercy staff in 2024, by bringing in experts from the U.S.A and the U.K in medicine, surgery, physical rehabilitation, and nursing care, organizational leadership, case management and social work, identified by the organization as its UMVIM program.
- $25,435 spent. Econonic Strengthening
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 July 2003.
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.