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CHARITY REVIEW
Issued: June 2025 Expires: June 2027

Grameen Foundation USA

Standards Not Met
Standards Not Met
6 14
(202) 628-3560
1400 K Street NW, Suite 1255
Washington, DC, 20005
https://grameenfoundation.org
📄 Full Report 🖨️ Print 📋 BBB Charity Standards

Standards For Charity Accountability

Governance

  1. Board Oversight
  2. Board Size
  3. Board Meetings
  4. Board Compensation
  5. Conflict of Interest

Measuring Effectiveness

  1. Effectiveness Policy
  2. Effectiveness Report

Finances

  1. Program Expenses
  2. Fundraising Expenses
  3. Accumulating Funds
  4. Audit Report
  5. Detailed Expense Breakdown
  6. Accurate Expense Reporting
  7. Budget Plan

Fundraising & Info

  1. Truthful Materials
  2. Annual Report
  3. Website Disclosures
  4. Donor Privacy
  5. Cause Marketing Disclosures
  6. Complaints

Grameen Foundation USA does not meet the following 2 Standards for Charity Accountability:

Standard 6 (Board Policy on Effectiveness)
Have a board policy of assessing, no less than every two years, the organization's performance and effectiveness and of determining future actions required to achieve its mission.

GFUSA does not meet this Standard because:

  • The board of directors does not have a written policy stating that, at least every two years, an appraisal be done assessing the organization’s performance and effectiveness and determining future actions required to achieve its mission.

Standard 14 (Budget)
Have a board-approved annual budget for its current fiscal year, outlining projected expenses for major program activities, fund raising, and administration.

GFUSA does not meet this Standard because, when the organization provided 2024 budget information, it indicated that the budget:

  • Did not identify total projected program service expenses, broken down by major program category (financial services, health and agricultural solutions, public education, regional programs, and strengthening organizations).
  • Did not identify total projected administrative expenses.

Grameen Foundation USA meets the remaining 18 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Stated Purpose:
"to enable the poor, especially women, to create a world without poverty and hunger."

Year, State Incorporated:
1996, OK

Also Known As:
Freedom From Hunger

Grameen Foundation USA (GFUSA) works with women and girls to build a supporting ecosystem, using technology and innovation to break barriers. The organization aims to enable women to succeed by first engaging their communities to address household and societal biases. Then, GFUSA provides tailored support from financial education to business training and partnering with local financial service providers to foster inclusive ecosystems. The organization strives to meet women where they are, and partner with them on their journey out of poverty. GFUSA focuses on women entrepreneurs, smallholder farms, and young women across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, with the goal of fostering agency, entrepreneurship, and resilience. In 2023, the organization reported that it led 20 digital financial services projects, and onboarded over 2,000 new community agents who provide financial inclusion and health services. GFUSA also helped smallholder farmers reduce their vulnerability to shocks such as climate change, extreme weather events, crop disease, pests, and market vulnerability with 16 projects focused on agriculture.

For the year ended June 30, 2023, Grameen Foundation USA's program expenses were:

Financial services: $6,360,830

Strengthening organizations: $1,938,759

Health and agricultural solutions: $1,343,299

Regional programs: $1,087,855

Public education: $405,212

Total Program Expenses: $11,135,955

Chief Executive
Zubaida Bai, President and Chief Executive Officer

Compensation*
$341,348

Chair of the Board
Elisabeth Rhyne

Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation
Financial Inclusion Consultant

Board Size
15

Paid Staff Size
166

*2023 compensation, as reported by the charity, includes annual salary and, if applicable, benefit plans, expense accounts, and other allowances.

Method(s) Used:
Direct mail appeals, Grant proposals, Internet, Direct mail appeals, Radio, Telemarketing

Fundraising costs were 3% of related contributions. (Related contributions, which totaled $10,172,588, are donations received as a result of fundraising activities.)

This organization is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is eligible to receive contributions deductible as charitable donations for federal income tax purposes.

The following information is based on Grameen Foundation USA's audited financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2023.

Source of Funds
Grants and contributions $7,105,690
Government grants $2,400,712
Program revenues $2,502,133
In-kind contributions $666,186
Other revenue $26,275
Investment return, net $169,125
Loss on cash surrender value of life insurance $-3,652
Total Income $12,866,469

Programs: 80% Fundraising: 2% Administrative: 18%

Total Income $12,866,469
Total expenses: $13,878,276
  Program expenses $11,135,955
  Fundraising expenses $262,626
  Administrative expenses $2,479,695
  Other expenses $0
Income in Excess of Expenses $-1,011,807
Beginning Net Assets $4,402,394
Other Changes In Net Assets $-28,586
Ending Net Assets $3,362,001
Total Liabilities $6,811,270
Total Assets $10,173,271

Note 1: According to GFUSA's audited financial statements - consolidated - for the year ended June 30, 2023, the organization received in-kind contributions totaling $666,186 in the form of professional services ($558,873), legal services ($75,476), and advertising services ($31,837).

Note 2: In the financial section above, "other changes in net assets" refers to foreign exchange rate income ($79,543), program-related investment returns, net (-$29,558), and bad debts (-$78,571).

An organization may change its practices at any time without notice. A copy of this report has been shared with the organization prior to publication. It is not intended to recommend or deprecate, and is furnished solely to assist you in exercising your own judgment. If the report is about a charity and states the charity meets or does not meet the Standards for Charity Accountability, it reflects the results of an evaluation of information and materials provided voluntarily by the charity. The name Better Business Bureau is a registered service mark of the International Association of Better Business Bureaus.

This report is not to be used for fundraising or promotional purposes.

RELATED CONTENT

Report completed by:
BBB Wise Giving Alliance