Accountability

Groundswell International was established as a not-for-profit corporation under the laws of the District of Columbia in October 2009, and was recognized as tax-exempt pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code in August 2010.

We believe that non-governmental organizations should be accountable to partner organizations, to communities they work with, and to those from whom they receive support. For this reason, we have established a bottom-up organizational structure that institutionalizes effectiveness, accountability and transparency at all levels. A policy requiring audited annual financial statements is among the mechanisms that we have established to ensure the organization stays true to this ideal. We also prepare annual reports detailing our work on the ground. Both are available here:

2010 Audited Financial Statement

2010 Annual Report

2009 Unaudited Financial Statement

We work hard to use our resources efficiently and for greatest impact. Our approach of strengthening community-based organizations to create, manage, spread and sustain positive changes in their own lives is low cost and does not generate dependencies on external funding. In 2010 we kept our overhead for administration and fundraising at 10%. Founders and resource people have volunteered significant amounts of time because they believe in the mission. Going forward we will strive to keep overhead to 12% or less.

Please write us at info@groundswellinternational.org for a copy of our 501(c)3 determination letter or if you have questions about our financial management or other aspects of our work. We are also members of the GuideStar Exchange, which means you can download our latest form 990 from the GuideStar website.