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Maker Bhavan Foundation

EIN 82-2933252 · Palo Alto, CA

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthStrong93 out of 100GovernanceFair68 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

To enable Stem Education in India to train students to be innovative and job-ready upon graduation. The foundation acts as a global resource for Indian engineering colleges to provide access to tools, equipment, financial resources, and knowledge so that the education imparted is more relevant and responsive to the real life needs of students and society at large.

Income
$9.7 million
Spending
$343,700
Spent on programs
60%
Reserves
Over 10 years of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 100%
Employees
0
Volunteers
12

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: 93 out of 100. Higher than 83% of charities in its peer group (education, $1m to $10m).

  • Reserves

    35 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover more than ten years of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 0% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 96% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 927% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    8 of 15

    60% 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

Fair: 68 out of 100. Higher than 23% of charities in its peer group (education, $1m to $10m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    10 of 10 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    0 of 15

    Reports no written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Independent check of accounts

    0 of 15

    Its accounts were not audited or reviewed by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports 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)
  1. $124,840 spent. Tinkerers Labs are 24/7 student-managed academic makerspaces equipped with advanced fabrication tools (3D printers, CNC machines, laser cutters) that allow students to transition from theoretical concepts to real-world prototypes. MBF significantly accelerated its footprint in 2025. By the end of this reporting cycle, the foundation has established a total of 17 operational labs across India. A strategic priority was placed on less well-resourced institutions to democratize innovation. To date, over 100,000 students have benefited from the TL network.In 2025, MBF supported the establishment of 6 new labs namely - NIE Mysuru, IIT Jodhpur, Chitkara University, Ahmedabad University, and Prince Sri Venkateshwara Padmavathy Engineering College and College of Engineering Roorkee.The total cost of setting up these facilities in 2025 was USD 124,839.83In September 2025. MBF entered a landmark partnership with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and other collaborators to launch Project PRACTICE (Project for Advancing Critical Thinking, Industry Connect and Employability). This initiative aims to reach 1,000 Tier II and Tier III engineering colleges over three years, impacting 5 lakh+ students and 10,000+ faculty members. MBF serves as a key enabler by providing its proprietary Management Information System (MIS) for lab utilization and driving the "Innovation and Project-Based Learning" pillars of the program.
  2. $70,694 spent. Invention Factory (IF) rebranded as InventX--An existing program of the Foundation, Invention Factory rebranded as InventX is an intensive six-week residential summer program in inventing for undergraduate engineering and design students in India. To date, a total of 265 students from 20 IITs and 18 NITs have participated in the program with 124 provisional patent applications filed in India and the USA. In 2025, we received 890 applications from 480 unique colleges, ultimately hosting the final selected students at IIT Gandhinagar and IIT Jammu. The cost incurred for this programme was USD 70,694 in 2025.
  3. $11,560 spent. Maker Bhavan Our largest academic makerspace at IIT Gandhinagar supports approximately 15 courses and project workshops conducted by facility staff. In the year 2025, a Makerspace summit was held for which the cost MBF contributed USD 11,560.
  4. $62 spent. Vishwakarma Award, was launched in 2022, as an annual nationwide thematic challenge to encourage talented student teams to build innovative, impactful, deployable prototypes rapidly. In the first edition in 2022, 120 teams with a total of 300 plus students, from across India participated in the field of Water and Sanitation. The 2025, Vishwakarma Awards attracted 1,054 team applications from 3,616 students across India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Nepal, culminating in a grand finale at IIT Indore following an intensive bootcamp. Supported by industry partners MathWorks, Addverb, Technocraft, WingsEV, and Alkyl Amines, the competition challenged participants to innovate within the themes of smart mobility, healthtech, and intelligent machines. The total cost of this programme was USD 62.07.

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

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since April 2019.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. 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.