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Evidence Action Inc

EIN 90-0874591 · Washington, DC

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

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthGood70 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceIndependently evaluatedHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

EVIDENCE ACTION AIMS TO BE A WORLD LEADER IN SCALING EVIDENCE-BASED AND COST-EFFECTIVE PROGRAMS TO REDUCE THE BURDEN OF POVERTY BY BUILDING A WORLD WHERE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF POOR PEOPLE HAVE BETTER OPPORTUNITIES AND THEIR LIVES ARE MEASURABLY IMPROVED. (SEE SCH. O)

Income
$36.2 million
Spending
$45.1 million
Spent on programs
84%
Reserves
16.5 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 77%
Employees
98
Volunteers
9
Highest pay
$431,665, chief executive officer

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

Good: 70 out of 100. Higher than 48% of charities in its peer group (international, $10m to $100m).

  • Reserves

    35 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 16.5 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 6% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    0 of 15

    Spending exceeded income by 25% of income.

  • Income trend

    0 of 15

    Income fell 36% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    84% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 4 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

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 35% of charities in its peer group (international, $10m to $100m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    6 of 7 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a 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.

  • Pay set independently

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • Independent check of accounts

    15 of 15

    Its accounts were audited 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, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Impact evidence

Independently evaluated. An independent evaluator has assessed its work and recommends it.

  • The Life You Can Save: Listed among its recommended charities. See the evaluation Checked September 29, 2026.

Results it reports

  • The safe water program provides sustained safe water access to more than 10 million people in rural Africa.Work delivered
  • Deworm the World Initiative helped deliver over 2 billion deworming treatments to children since 2014.Work delivered

Read from the return by an AI model and shown only where the wording was found in the return. These are the charity's own figures.

Programs described in its return (4)
  1. $17.2 million spent. SAFE WATER: EVIDENCE ACTION'S SAFE WATER PROGRAM UTILIZES PROVEN, INNOVATIVE, AND LOW-COST APPROACHES TO PROVIDE SUSTAINED SAFE WATER ACCESS AT SOURCE TO MORE THAN 10 MILLION PEOPLE IN RURAL AFRICA, PREVENTING CHILDHOOD ILLNESS AND DEATHS. OUR DISPENSERS FOR SAFE WATER HELP RURAL COMMUNITIES INSTALL CHLORINE DISPENSERS TO ALLOW USERS TO ADD EXACTLY THE RIGHT DOSE OF DILUTED CHLORINE TO THEIR WATER BUCKETS, WHILE IN-LINE CHLORINATION AUTOMATICALLY TREATS COMMUNAL PIPED WATER SYSTEMS. THE SAFE WATER PROGRAM HAS RECENTLY EXPANDED TO INDIA.
  2. $16.1 million spent. NUTRITION: THE NUTRITION PROGRAM LEADS THE WORK FOR EVIDENCE ACTION'S DEWORM THE WORLD AND EQUAL VITAMIN ACCESS PROGRAMS.DEWORM THE WORLD INITIATIVE IS AN INCREDIBLY HIGH IMPACT PROGRAM, HELPING TO DELIVER OVER 2 BILLION TREATMENTS TO CHILDREN FOR INTESTINAL WORMS SINCE 2014. DEWORM THE WORLD INITIATIVE PROVIDES TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO GOVERNMENTS TO IMPLEMENT HIGH QUALITY, COST EFFECTIVE, AND SUSTAINABLE PROGRAMMING. REGULAR DEWORMING RESULTS IN IMPROVED EDUCATION, HEALTH, AND LONG-TERM WELL-BEING FOR TREATED CHILDREN.IN 2019 EVIDENCE ACTION LAUNCHED A TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM TO SUPPORT THE DELIVERY OF IRON AND FOLIC ACID (IFA) SUPPLEMENTATION FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS 6 MONTHS - 19 YEARS OF AGE IN INDIA. TTHE PROGRAM IS BEING IMPLEMENTED IN INDIA AND MALAWI WITH A ROBUST EXTERNAL EVALUATION DESIGN TO MEASURE CHANGES IN COVERAGE.
  3. $3.4 million spent. MATERNAL NEONATAL AND CHILD HEALTH: THE SYPHILIS FREE START PROGRAM IS A TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM PROVIDING COMPREHENSIVE SUPPORT TO GOVERNMENTS TO SCALE HIV/SYPHILIS DUAL TESTING AND STRENGTHEN SYPHILIS TREATMENT PROVISION TO PREVENT NEWBORN DEATH AND DISABILITY, WITH FOCUS IN FIVE CORE AREAS: (1) STRENGTHENING POLICY, PROGRAM MANAGEMENT, AND COORDINATION, (2) ENHANCING SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT, (3) STRENGTHENING DATA COLLECTION AND MONITORING, (4) SUPPORTING HEALTHCARE PROVIDER TRAINING AND SUPERVISION, AND (5) IDENTIFYING AND SECURING SUSTAINABLE FUNDING.
  4. $1.1 million spent. NEW PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT: EVIDENCE ACTION'S ACCELERATOR DRIVES NEW PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT, SELECTING HIGH-POTENTIAL INTERVENTIONS WITH MASSIVE OPPORTUNITY FOR EVIDENCE-BASED, COST EFFECTIVE IMPACT. THE ACCELERATOR TESTS AND REFINES DELIVERY MODELS WITH THE GOAL OF RAPIDLY SCALING INTERVENTIONS WITH LEVELS OF IMPACT SIMILAR TO OUR EXISTING PROGRAMS. PROMISING NEW PROGRAMS ARE ADVANCED THROUGH A RIGOROUS, 6 STAGE PROCESS - FROM DESK RESEARCH TO TESTING AT SCALE.

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

  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 September 7, 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 September 30, 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 September 10, 2026.

  4. 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.

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

    Recognized by the IRS since October 2013.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 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 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.