Friendship Bridge
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
Points to look into
- It reported loans to or from officers, directors or other insiders.
These come from the organization's own tax return. There may be a good explanation; ask the charity.
What it says it does
FRIENDSHIP BRIDGE IS A NONPROFIT SOCIAL ENTERPRISE CREATING OPPORTUNITIES THAT EMPOWER WOMEN IN GUATEMALA TO BUILD A BETTER LIFE. WE USE AN INNOVATIVE AND HIGH-IMPACT APPROACH TO POVERTY ALLEVIATION BY COMBINING THE TOOLS OF MICROFINANCE, EDUCATION, (CONT. ON PAGE 46) AND PREVENTIVE HEALTH SERVICES. WE CALL THIS MICROCREDIT PLUS. AS A RESULT OF PARTICIPATING IN OUR PROGRAMS, OUR CLIENTS EXPERIENCE A COMBINATION OF INCREASED RESILIENCE, IMPROVED EMPOWERMENT, AND ACCELERATED BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT. LEARN MORE AT WWW.FRIENDSHIPBRIDGE.ORG.
- Income
- $11.4 million
- Spending
- $11.2 million
- Spent on programs
- 92%
- Reserves
- 6.9 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 85%
- Employees
- 9
- Volunteers
- 335
- Highest pay
- $184,752, president & ceo
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: 78 out of 100. Higher than 61% of charities in its peer group (international, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 6.9 months of spending.
Debt
5 of 20It owes 70% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 2% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 13% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1592% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 15 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: 90 out of 100. Higher than 19% of charities in its peer group (international, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2516 of 16 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
0 of 10Reports at least one of: diversion of assets, excess benefits, 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 (1)
- $10.3 million spent. MICROCREDIT PLUS PROGRAM IN GUATEMALA: FRIENDSHIP BRIDGE'S MICRO-CREDIT PLUS PROGRAM OFFERS IMPOVERISHED GUATEMALAN WOMEN MICRO-LOANS SUPPLEMENTED WITH PLUS SERVICES, INCLUDING NON-FORMAL PARTICIPATORY EDUCATION, ARTISAN TRAINING, AGRICULTURAL TRAINING, AND PREVENTATIVE HEALTH SERVICES. DURING 2025, FRIENDSHIP BRIDGE SERVED OVER 37,000 WOMEN WITH $33.7M DISBURSED IN LOANS. THE LOANS AVERAGE $878 FOR FOUR TO TWELVE-MONTH LOAN CYCLES. BORROWINGS OCCUR THROUGH GROUPS OF 7-25 WOMEN, EACH KNOWN AS A TRUST BANK. FROM 2021-2025, A 27% REDUCTION IN POVERTY RATES WERE RECOGNIZED IN OUR CLIENTS. DURING 2025, FB OFFERED NON-FORMAL EDUCATION TO ALL CLIENTS, PROVIDED SPECIALIZED AGRICULTURE TRAINING TO 758 CLIENTS, OUR HEALTH FOR LIFE PROGRAM SERVED OVER 7,800, AND THE BRIDGE TO SUCCESS PROGRAM HAD 560 ENTREPRENEUR CLIENTS AT YEAR END.
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 1990.
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.