2025-09-24T15:12:52-07:00 2025-06-30 990 2024-07-01 822274818 PARTNERS FOR BETTER FUTURES PART 4153174913 1275 Fairway Drive Los Altos CA 94024 Daniel Kipp Treasurer 4153174913 2025-09-23 1 2024 2025-03-06 01:10:19Z Andrew Lederer 1275 Fairway Dr Los Altos CA 94024 523134 0 X www.partnersforbetterfutures.org X 2017 CA Partners for Better Futures (PBF) helps improve the lives of poor people around the world, primarily focusing on children and education. PBF does this by partnering with local organizations that are deeply involved in their own communities, and participating in carefully evaluated projects and programs. There are three programs within PBF: Build a School in Burma (BSB), Build a School in India (BSI), and APC School - Philippines (APC). Prior to the PBF's founding these programs had each operated for several years through "fiscal sponsors." In 2018 these operations joined together in a shared purpose, to help produce better futures for under-served people around the world. 5 5 0 6 0 0 270017 523134 0 0 10825 0 0 0 280842 523134 505243 660636 0 0 26436 27425 0 0 1551 16679 19387 548358 707448 -267516 -184314 432751 248502 0 0 432751 248502 Partners for Better Futures (PBF) helps improve the lives of poor people around the world, primarily focusing on children and education. PBF does this by partnering with local organizations that are deeply involved in their own communities, and participating in carefully evaluated projects and programs. There are three continuing programs within PBF: Build a School in Burma (BSB), Build a School in India (BSI), and APC School Philippines (APC). In 2024 BSB made grants for new buildings for several schools, and made grants for projects including water systems, and solar lighting systems. Grants were also made to provide humanitarian assistance, following a devastating earthquake in March 2025. BSI made grants to support education for underserved children in India. APC made grants to the APC School in the Philippines. PBF also made grants to provide humanitarian assistance to Burmese people adversely impacted by conflict, including refugees. 0 0 243020 211970 226788 The "Build a School in Burma" (BSB) program makes grants to support construction of school buildings in Myanmar. These grants have been fewer since the Febuary 2021 coup, which upended much of the country. This year BSB also supported education for Myanmar refugees, by making grants for construction of "Community Learning Centers" in bordering countries, primarily Thailand. BSB also provided help to schools that needed new furniture and sanitary facilities to support growing enrollments, and repair existing buildings. Overall, BSB has worked to provide safe, secure learning environments for students in poor, underserved communities, including refugees. 106101 106100 79014 "APC School" program made grants to support ongoing operations of Apu Palamguwan Cultural Education Center (APC) which provides an integrated and holistic education for the indigenous children and youth along the Pantaron Range of Mindanao, Philippines. The APC school works to promote and deepen cultural understanding while providing approximately 400 indigenous children with the knowledge and skills they need to confidently relate with mainstream Philippine society and advance in the formal education ladder. 343769 342566 217398 The Build a School in India (BSI) program made grants to increase access to education primarily to disadvantaged students in rural India. This included the following grants: a grant to Anandakshan, a grant to ASHA Action Self Reliance Hope, a grant to Cochlea Pune Hearing & Speech, a grant to Harali SEUS Support Education, a grant to Holistic Education Mission, a grant to JP Harali, a grant to Kiran Educational Trust - Foundation Academy, a grant to Mata Balak Utkarsha Pratishthan, a grant to Sondara, a grant to Srotoshwini Trust, and a grant to Unnatia Institute. 0 0 0 692890 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 CA X X Daniel Kipp 4153174913 1275 Fairway Drive Los Altos CA 94024 Naing Lin Swe Country Director - Burma 40 0 X X 22435 0 0 Andrew Lederer President 25 0 X X 0 0 0 Daniel Kipp Treasurer 5 0 X X 0 0 0 Robert G Cornwell Vice President 15 0 X X 0 0 0 Mark Kirchen Secretary 5 0 X X 0 0 0 Joyce McKinney Board member 1 0 X X 0 0 0 22435 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 523134 0 523134 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 523134 0 0 0 10000 10000 5000 5000 645636 645636 0 0 22435 22435 4990 4990 1651 100 1551 0 17736 4829 12907 707448 692890 13007 1551 312194 226370 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 120557 22132 0 0 0 0 432751 248502 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 0 0 0 0 432751 248502 432751 248502 432751 248502 -184314 0 65 0 0 0 X 0 0 0 X 694518 606261 316185 270017 523134 2410115 0 0 0 0 694518 606261 316185 270017 523134 2410115 1036863 1373252 0 0 10826 10826 0 0 0 0 0 2420941 0.56724 0.55292 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 1 East Asia and the Pacific 0 Grantmaking Apu Palamguwan Cultural Education Center - Philippines. (APC). This grant partially funded ongoing operation of an accredited school that for more than twenty years has provided primary education, and has recently added secondary education, to children and youth in indigenous communities in the southern region of the Philippines. The school utilizes community resources and incorporates awareness of local issues into various learning experiences. The mission of APC is to provide an integrated, holistic, and culturebased education for indigenous children and youth. This is achieved by promoting anddeepening the children's understanding of their unique culture, while providing knowledge and skills that enable them to confidently relate with mainstream Philippine society. This involves instruction in four languages, including English. Funds are wired directly to the account of the school. 106100 South Asia 0 0 Grantmaking The "Build a School in India" program awards grants primarily to schools and in India. The PBF board member who manages this program typically visits India annually to meet with candidates for grants, and also meets with current grantees. The BSI program has developed a network of individuals in India who help identify candidates for grants, and who help monitor use of grant funds. 351522 East Asia and the Pacific 0 1 Grantmaking The Build a School in Burma program of PBF primarily makes grants to schools in Myanmar and Thailand, to build, improve, and renovate schools that provide education to children. Most of the grant projects are brought to BSB's attention by churches, monasteries, and other nonprofit organizations, both international and local. The PBF managers of the Build a School in Burma program review grant proposals, and decide which grants to make. After the grant is made and work is ongoing or has been completed, information is posted PBF's Slack communication systems to show work that has been, including construction, completion, and use of buildings and facilities. Grants were also made to local NGO's for humanitarian needs of Myanmar people, including food, shelter, transportation and medical needs - both in Myanmar, and along border areas in Thailand. 206135 East Asia and the Pacific 0 0 Grantmaking Humanitarian assistance grants were made, primarily in Myanmar and in Thailand along the Myanmar border, primarily in response to a major earthquake on March 28 2025. This activity most mostly carried out in connection with the Build a School in Burma program, which focuses on school construction and improvements, but is not directly part of that program. 43668 0 1 707425 East Asia and the Pacific A grant to Ebenezer High School, Myanmar, was made to increase much-needed classroom capacity. This includes construction of a dedicated school building with 5 classrooms and other essential facilities to support the educational development needs of the students. The school building is 26 feet by 100 feet, with 5 classrooms and 4 latrines (2 for boys and 2 for girls), a new water pipe installation, furniture for the students, solar lighting installation the school, and student dormitories. 42271 Funds wired to school's local representative 0 East Asia and the Pacific A grant to the Ministry of Women, Youth, and Children's Affairs, Myanmar, was made to help victims of the devastating March 28 2025 earthquake. Funds were used to provide food, medical supplies, and other direct assistance to people who were injured, or whose homes were damaged or destroyed. Volunteers associated with local churches assisted in delivering aid. PBF received and reviewed photos and reports of how funds were used and the assistance that was provided. 16055 Funds wired to PBFs representative 0 East Asia and the Pacific A Grant to Guiding Star Learning Center in Ranong Thailand, was made to help build a multi-purpose hall for this school that serves over 700 migrant Myanmar children. This project was a collaboration with Partners Asia, a 501c3 organization that PBF has previously worked with. As a result of completion of the multi-purpose hall, the school is now able to conduct student events, community meetings, and various group learning experiences for the students. Funds were transferred through BEAM, and local NGO that assists Myanmar migrant workers. 9839 Funds transferred local NGO supporting Myanmar migrants 0 East Asia and the Pacific Grant to Jesus Love Learning Center, for a project to construct a four classroom building, latrines and furniture. The school, in a border area of Thailand, serves more than 120 children, mostly from Myanmar migrant families. The building is 10 by 20 meters. The new school building will help support the educational development needs of students, both boys and girls, from grades 1 through 9. Enrollment has been growing - Grade 9 was recently added. A water tank, and school furniture was also provided. A solar powered lighting system was included. A local l NGO and a church group, "Grace Mission" assisted in the project. 25171 Funds wired to PBF's country representative 0 East Asia and the Pacific A grant to Lisu Christian Church of the Kachin State, Myitkyina Myanmar, to provide humanitarian assistance to earthquake victims and displaced persons affected by conflict. Assistance included emergency food, shelter, and basic supplies. This was done at the request and with the assistance of the leader of an organization PBF worked with on previous grant projects. 13000 Funds were sent to church's local representative 0 East Asia and the Pacific Grant to New Wave Learning Center, Thailand, to build a 24 meter by 10 meter classroom building, 40 sets of tables and chair. The Learning Center is near the border with Myanmar. Students are Myanmar migrants. Essentially it operates as a school, grades 1 through 10, but is called a "Learning Center" to comply with Thailand's governmental requirements. The number of students increased dramatically last year, from 120 to nearly 230, making the new building extremely necessary and useful. The building is located on rented land - it was designed to be moveable, if that becomes necessary. 20521 Funds wired to school's local representative 0 East Asia and the Pacific A grant to Paw Ta Kwee High School provided funds to construct a classroom building and latrines in Myanmar, in a school for 160 students in grades 1 through 12. The school is located in Karen State, close to the Thai border. Construction was completed in early 2025. The building is 26 feet by 26 feet, with 9 classrooms, each is 18 feet by 20 feet. The project was a collaboration with an Austrian NGO, Sao Bien, which provided 50% of the total project budget 7835 Funds wired to school's representative in Thailand 0 East Asia and the Pacific A grant to Paung Daw Oo monastic school, in Mandalay, Myanmar, to provide emergency food assistance following the March 28 2025 earthquake. The earthquake's center was near Mandalay, where the school is located, and registered 7.8 pm the Richter scale. The grant was made to allow the school to continue to feed it's more than 2,000 students, while it worked to recover. PBF has made grants for several projects for schools associated with the Paung Daw Oo school, and has a long history of successfully working with the leaders of the school. 20000 Funds wired to school's bank 0 East Asia and the Pacific A grant for construction of a school building for a middle school in Kawkariek Township, Myanmar, which is near Mae Sot, Thailand. Construction was completed in early 2025. The building is 20 feet by 100 feet. Shower and toilet facilities were also constructed. Water supply piping was repaired. With the new building, the school has expanded from 3 teachers with 20 students in grades KG through 4 with 3 teachers in 2022, to 10 teachers with 115 students in grades KG through 8 in 2024 14031 Funds to local school representative 0 South Asia A grant to Anankdakshan Learning Center, India, for operating expenses. Anandakshan Learning Space (ALLS) is a grammar school in India founded in 2014 by a group of middle-class families with the goal of providing a high-quality education with a non-traditional teaching philosophy to their children. BSI proposed and ALSS agreed to expand and adjust the enrollment at the school so that at least 25% of the students will be from underserved and less advantaged families. BSI's grant subsidizes the cost of enrolling students who are not able to pay the normal fees. The school currently has an enrollment of close to 200 students. 123222 Wired to grantee's bank account 0 South Asia Grant to KIRAN EDUCATIONAL TRUST (KET) and THE FOUNDATION ACADEMY SCHOOL (TFA), India. The grant is to pay a significant portion of the budget for operations - for teacher and staff salaries, plus other operating expenses. It is for one-year and may be extended year-by-year per reporting about the existing school and progress towards an expansion of the school (which will be in a different location from the existing school.) KET is a nonprofit, non-government, social service society. It was founded in 2018 with the collective efforts of a few committed citizens with a view to provide services in Purba Medinipur District, West Bengal. A primary service has been to provide a quality education to children. It gives priority to underserved children and women's empowerment through job opportunities and promotion of education and expansion of skills for job opportunities. TFA is a school developed by KET. 59673 Wire to school's bank account 0 South Asia Grant to JP Harali School, India, for operating expenses of a program called Anandshala. It is daily, afterschool program with a variety of educational and learning activities, plus organized play activities. It is a place for children to go to improve their "regular school learning," which many of the children do not have at all because their parents are migrant farm workers. The programs are offered in nearly 100 local villages. A qualified teacher is always the leader of each program, and she/he is usually supported by additional adults who volunteer their services. Typically 20-25 children will participate. There are no fees charged. 25529 Cash Disbursement Wires to school bank account 0 South Asia Grant to Unnati Institute, India, for operating expenses. BSI's Agreement with Unnati is to support activities to work with children to improve their abilities to access to a quality education in a formal, school educational program. The children are from the age groups of 6-9, 10-14 and from 15 years onward. The children are mostly from tribal groups and often do not speak the state language of Marathi, which is used in schools. The activities include working with children to develop reading skills, nurture reading habits, improve literacy and vocabulary knowledge, learn writing in English and Marathi, provide libraries with books in schools and in the community. Unnati will also work with government systems at village, block, district, state and national level to provide support in developing programmes for strengthening structures and systems in the areas of quality education in a safe and exploitation-free environment. 14413 Cash Disbursement Wires to school bank account 0 South Asia Grant to Mata Balak Utkarsha Pratishthan (MBUP), India, for operating costs and fund development. MBUP is a multi-social service organization serving a large rural area and is driven by the goal of services for the empowerment of rural women and their children. Utkarsh Vidyalaya, the largest program of MBUP, is a school serving approximately 1,800 students from pre-KG through high school. There is also a vocational training program for young adults and older students to learn income providing skills. After helping MBUP build and develop its high school facilities and programs, it was recognized that an ongoing issue was the year-to-year financial support that enables the school to admit all students regardless of their economic status. BSI, therefore, agreed to provide funds to support the shortfall in funds needed on a year-to- year basis to operate that school. Simultaneously an initiative was begun in India to develop an endowment fund to provide a long-term source of income. 37814 Wires to school's bank account 0 South Asia Grant to Srotoshwini Trust, India, for operating costs of Pashwala school. The primary costs are the salaries for teachers and staff. Other allied educational development activity expenses include the purchase of teaching materials and equipment (for teachers and children), supplies for special events and transportation for field trips. Srotoshwini Trust is a nonprofit, social service organization founded in 2010 by a group of individuals with a view to provide a quality education to the underprivileged children of the local society. It gives priority to underprivileged children's holistic education and women's empowerment through job opportunities and promotion of education. Srotoshwini Trust's Pathshala program is a residential, informal school located in Vadodara, Gujarat. This school is dedicated to providing a quality education in Gujarati language for underprivileged children. Currently, approximately 100 children participate. 43317 Wires to trust's bank account 0 South Asia Grant to Action Self Reliance Hope (ASHA), India, for operating costs of this educational assistance organization. ASHA works with 150-200 children from a large slum area in Pune. A variety of programs are included with a strong emphasis on the educational needs of girls. These programs are supplemental to the classroom education received by children at their regular school. The grant helps children to get enrollment for higher education and allied courses to gain skills to become employable. Use of grant funds may include electronic equipment and books including tablets, computers and other office equipment. A small number of exceptional students have been given scholarship funding to for a one-year training program to become Certified Mechanical Engineering Technicians. ASHA also provides social work and psychological support programs to help children who often are in abusive living situations. 11383 Wire to organization's bank account 0 South Asia Grant to Cochlea Pune Hearing & Speech, India, for operating costs. The organization helps children with severe hearing impairment. Cochlea Pune arranges for children born deaf (4 out of1,000 babies are born deaf) to be surgically fitted with a device wired into their brain, whereby the brain can "learn" what sounds mean. The grant was for the teaching of children (0-6 years old) who have the device need to have their brain trained to learn sounds that allow the child's brain to convert the signal so the child can understand the sounds as words and learn to speak understandably. Cochlea Pune provides a special and intensive training program for the child and a parent who are both trained and educated as partners over a 4-year period. The training program is full-time, all day for 5-days each week with a very high ratio of teachers to child-parent from one teacher to one child-parent up to one teacher for four student-parent participants. 7009 Wire to grantee's bank account 0 South Asia Grant to Harali SEUS Support Education, India, for part of operating costs. BSI is supporting two program areas. The first and most significant is the operation of the well-established JP Harali school with approximately 255 students. Of the total 135 are "residential," which means they live on the campus. The balance of 120 students live in local, nearby villages. The classes start at preprimary and continue through high school. Fees are charged only for the residential students, however about 25% of those students pay only partial or no fees. The "local" students pay no fees. 31992 Cash Disbursement Wires to school bank account 0 South Asia Grant to Sondara Gurukulam Education Center, India, for operating costs and education equipment and supplies. Sondara Gurukulam is primarily a residential school serving 200-250 students from KG through high school. A few students are from local villages. The already low fee structure is totally waived for non-residential students, although their families may contribute edible agricultural products that are used for meal-making. Grants are provided for a range of needs including equipment, supplies, and development of new curriculums. In the most recent year special attention was focused on science courses and significant expansion of a science lab. 63858 Wire to school's bank account 0 South Asia Grant to Holistic Education Mission, India, (HEM) for part of operating costs. HEM is a school that mainly serves the needs of 200-225 poor and orphan children, youth, women and the rural poor. Grant funds were designated to be used for the school's operations, including teacher salaries and classroom equipment including desks, books, whiteboards, etc 22236 Wire to grantee's bank account 0 East Asia and the Pacific Grant to Apu Palamguwan Cultural Education Center - Philippines. (APC). This grant partially funded ongoing operation of an accredited school that for more than twenty years has provided primary education, and has recently added secondary education, to children and youth in indigenous communities in the southern region of the Philippines. The school utilizes community resources and incorporates awareness of local issues into various learning experiences. The mission of APC is to provide an integrated, holistic, and culture-based education for indigenous children and youth. This is achieved by promoting and deepening the children's understanding of their unique culture, while providing knowledge and skills that enable them to confidently relate with mainstream Philippine society. This involves instruction in four languages, including English. 106100 Wires to school's bank account 0 20 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Schedule F, Part I, Line 2 Organization's procedures for monitoring the use of grant funds outside the United States: Grant proposals are received from outside organizations, and are reviewed by PBF board members. Review criteria include: Does the purpose fit our mission? Is there a true need? Has the grantee shown competency and integrity? Are funds available? And is the budget reasonable? Grants are only made once the board member(s) are satisfied. After a grant activities are in progress or have been completed, the board members review results, including written reports, if the project includes construction or physical acquisitions, photos are received and reviewed. In the event funds are unspent, PBF requests return of unspent funds, and follows up to ensure compliance. 1 Partners Asia 436 14th St Suite 411 Oakland CA 94612 454855118 10000 0 To support the ongoing operations of Partners Asia, a 501c3 that primarily works to improve the lives of people of Myanmar. 1 0 Schedule I, Part I, Line 2 Proposals for grants are reviewed by the entire Board, and relevant information is posted in our "Slack" communicatiion system. Disbursements must be requested by a board member, and approved by a different board member. Followup information is also posted in the Slack system, is seen by all board members. Grants must support the mission of Partners for Better Futures, and board members carefully consider proposed grants that have characteristics that are unusual or different. Form 990, Part VI, Section A, Line 9 Daniel Kipp, Treasurer, 421 Hadley Ct, Lincoln CA 95648; Joyce McKinney, Board Member, 1801 Wedemeyer St. Unit 524, San Francisco CA 94129; Robert Cornwell, Vice President, 31 Fair Oaks St. San Francisco CA; Mark Kirchen, Secretary, 3402 Punta Alla Unit B, Laguna Woods CA 92637 Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 11b A draft version of the 990 report is prepared by the Treasurer, and is made available to board members with the "Slack" communication system. It is reviewed by board members, who may suggest changes to the report, generally using the Slack system or email or phone. The Treasurer may revise the draft based on the review, and post a revised version on the Slack system. A final review is made at a Board meeting, before it is submitted. Form 990, Part VI, Section C, Line 19 Documents including 990 Forms and 1023 filings were made available on the organizations website www.partnersforbetterfutures.org. Websites for the 2 largest programs also linked back to the PBF website, making these documents available to interested parties. The program websites are www.buildachoolinindia.org, and www.buildaschoolinburma.org.