What does pencils of promise do

Knowing when something is not achieving the desired results allows us to pivot and build upon successful outcomes. Donors rarely know where their money goes, so we set out to change this. All of our country directors are from the countries they lead. We have a proactive process to ensure every school we open is educating students. Pencils of Promise can empower communities through education, growth, and development when all levels of staff conduct themselves with openness and honesty.

We accomplish this through the establishment and consistent review of a strategic framework, and commit to holding one another accountable to our values, vision and justice for marginalized populations.

Amplified by Cause Hack. Through collaborative efforts of sustainable development, we work to place a pencil in every child's hand with the hope that it will be the first step towards fulfilling the promise of self-empowerment and a higher quality of life. Pencils of Promise "PoP" is a c 3 nonprofit organization that partners with local communities and organizations to build schools and support teachers in developing nations for some of the world's most impoverished and undereducated….

Find something to do. Grad Schools. Email Address. Join Us. Start a Campaign. Feeling inspired? Launch your campaign today. Join Passport. Support education year round by joining our monthly giving program. Sign up for Emails. Program Expense Ratio Administrative Expenses 7.

Fundraising Expenses Liabilities to Assets Ratio 2. Working Capital Ratio 0. Program Expense Growth Governance Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form that the organization has these governance practices in place.

More The presence of an independent governing body is strongly recommended by many industry professionals to allow for full deliberation and diversity of thinking on governance and other organizational matters. Our analysts check the Form to determine if the independent Board members are a voting majority and also at least five in number.

Less No Material Diversion of Assets More A diversion of assets — any unauthorized conversion or use of the organization's assets other than for the organization's authorized purposes, including but not limited to embezzlement or theft — can seriously call into question a charity's financial integrity.

This metric will be assigned to one of the following categories: Full Credit: There has been no diversion of assets within the last two years. Partial Credit: There has been a diversion of assets within the last two years and the charity has used Schedule O on the Form to explain: the nature of the diversion, the amount of money or property involved and the corrective action taken to address the matter.

In this situation, we deduct 7 points from the charity's Accountability and Transparency score. No Credit: There has been a diversion of assets within the last two years and the charity's explanation on Schedule O is either non-existent or not sufficient.

In this case, we deduct 15 points from the charity's Accountability and Transparency score. More Audited financial statements provide important information about financial accountability and accuracy. Partial Credit: The charity's audited financials were prepared by an independent accountant, but it did not have an audit oversight committee. In this case, we deduct 7 points from the charity's Accountability and Transparency score.

No Credit: The charity did not have its audited financials prepared by an independent accountant. More Making loans to related parties such as key officers, staff, or Board members, is not standard practice in the sector as it may divert the charity's funds away from its charitable mission and can lead to real and perceived conflict-of-interest problems. This practice is discouraged by sector trade groups which point to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act when they call for charities to refrain from making loans to directors and executives.

And the IRS is concerned enough with the practice that it requires charities to disclose on their Form any loans to or from current and former officers, directors, trustees, key employees, and other "disqualified persons. Furthermore, it is problematic because it is an indicator that the organization is not financially secure.

Less Documents Board Meeting Minutes More An official record of the events that take place during a board meeting ensures that a contemporaneous document exists for future reference. Charities are not required to make their Board meeting minutes available to the public. As such, we are not able to review and critique their minutes. For this performance metric, we are checking to see if the charity reports on its Form that it does keep those minutes. In the future, we will also track and rate whether or not a charity keeps minutes for its committee meetings.

Less Distributes to Board Before Filing More Providing copies of the Form to the governing body in advance of filing is considered a best practice, as it allows for thorough review by the individuals charged with overseeing the organization.

The Form asks the charity to disclose whether or not it has followed this best practice. If the charity has not distributed its Form to the board before filing, then we deduct 4 points from its Accountability and Transparency score.

Less Compensates Board More The IRS requires that any compensation paid to members of the charity's governing body be listed on the Form Furthermore, all members of the governing body need to be listed whether or not they are compensated. It is not unusual for some members of the board to have compensation listed. The executive director of the organization frequently has a seat on the board, for instance, and is compensated for being a full time staff member.

However, it is rare for a charity to compensate individuals only for serving on its Board of Directors. Although this sort of board compensation is not illegal, it is not considered a best practice. Policies Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form , or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization has these policies in place. More Such a policy protects the organization, and by extension those it serves, when it is considering entering into a transaction that may benefit the private interest of an officer or director of the organization.

Charities are not required to share their conflict of interest policies with the public. Although we can not evaluate the substance of its policy, we can tell you if the charity has one in place based on the information it reports on its Form If the charity does not have a Conflict of Interest policy, then we deduct 4 points from its Accountability and Transparency score. Less Whistleblower More This policy outlines procedures for handling employee complaints, as well as a confidential way for employees to report any financial mismanagement.

Here we are reporting on the existence of a policy as reported by the charity on its Form Less Records Retention and Destruction More Such a policy establishes guidelines for handling, backing up, archiving and destruction of documents. These guidelines foster good record keeping procedures that promotes data integrity. If the charity does not have a Records Retention and Destruction Policy, then we deduct 4 points from its Accountability and Transparency score.

More This process indicates that the organization has a documented policy that it follows year after year.