Ihsan Standard Listed · Last verified 2026-05-21

Penny Appeal Usa Inc

EIN 475165837 · Alexandria, VA · · national-relief

Address2461 EISENHOWER AVE 2ND FLOOR, Alexandria, VA 22314-9891

Mission · 990 Part I
WE ARE WORKING TO ALLEVIATE POVERTY THROUGH SUSTAINABLE PROGRAMS AND EMERGENCY RELIEF. OUR MISSION IS TO BRING ABOUT AN EQUITABLE WORLD BY TACKLING THE ROOT CAUSES OF POVERTY. OUR INTERVENTIONS FOCUS ON PROVIDING COMMUNITIES WITH ACCESSS TO WATER, EDUCATION, AND INCOME OPPORTUNITIES.

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Most recent filing on fileFY 2023

The IRS Form 990 for FY 2024 is due ~Nov 15 of the year after the fiscal close, followed by 3–6 months of IRS processing and 6–12 months before the cleaned data is published. FY 2024 should begin appearing here around mid-to-late 2025. A gap between today and the latest filing does not mean the org hasn't filed.

Revenue
$10.9M
Expenses
$9.5M
Net assets
$4.6M
Months of reserve?
5.7 mo
Additional financials & ratios
Top-officer comp
$470K
Contributions
$11.1M
Investment income
$2K
Total assets
$6.5M
Fundraising-cost ratio
1.0%
Total-comp ratio
16.0%
Liquidity (months)
5.7 mo
Investment income / rev
0.0%

Attestations & Audits

Org-supplied disclosures that have been verified by the Ihsan Standard Editorial Council. Every standard has a Gold tier (★) reached via an Ihsan Standard or accepted third-party audit. An empty section means the org has not yet filled it in — not that they fail the standard.

Completed
0 / 12
0 ★ Gold
  • Zakat methodology disclosurenot yet attested
  • Zakāt al-Fitr timeline commitmentnot yet attested
  • Qurbānī / Udhiya timeline enforcementnot yet attested
  • Kaffāra fulfillment commitmentnot yet attested
  • Annual zakat distribution reportnot yet attested
  • Orphan-fund segregation (Qurʾānic amāna)not yet attested
  • Restricted-purpose fund segregation (honoring the amāna)not yet attested
  • Per-donation tracking & fulfillmentnot yet attested
  • Supplier-stack cleanup plan filednot yet attested
  • Full supplier-stack audit completednot yet attested
  • Taʿāwun Procurement Audit — Muslim community vendor pledgenot yet attested
  • Khulafāʾ al-Arḍ Environmental Stewardship Auditnot yet attested

Where the money went · FY 2023

Form 990 Part IX (Statement of Functional Expenses) split into the four functional buckets, plus automated anomaly detection across the most-asked donor questions.

Expense breakdown · FY 2023

Total $9.53M

Form 990 Part IX line items we have on file for this filing (compensation totals + fundraising lines). The full functional-expense col-A/B/C/D split (grants, program, admin, fundraising) was not in the structured extract — the residual sits in “Program & operations” below. Reading note: compensation is NOT the same as “admin overhead” — for orgs running clinics (like IMAN’s FQHC), schools, or in-house programs, most of compensation is program work.

% to compensation
16.0%
$1.52M
% to fundraising
1.9%
$182K
% to program & operations
82.1%
$7.82M
Total expenses
$9.53M
FY 2023
16%
82%
  • Compensation & benefits$1.52M · 16.0%

    Form 990 Part IX lines 5–10 — total staff compensation: salaries & wages, payroll taxes, and benefits across everyone the org pays (program, clinical, and support staff), plus any pay to officers, directors, and key employees. The per-person split — including which officers, if any, are paid — is in the Compensation history section below. For orgs running clinics, schools, or in-house programs, most of this is program work, not admin.

  • Fundraising$182K · 1.9%

    Form 990 Part IX line 11e (professional fundraising) + direct fundraising expenses. Donor acquisition, professional fundraisers, mailings.

  • Program & operations (other)$7.82M · 82.1%

    Total expenses minus compensation and fundraising — the residual covering program supplies, occupancy & utilities, professional fees, beneficiary services, medical supplies (for clinics), travel, equipment, and depreciation. ProPublica's structured extract did not include the Part IX functional split for this filing year; the breakdown PDF reconciles which specific lines went where.

Fundraising efficacy · not the primary lens for this org

Penny Appeal Usa Inc reports $11.08M in contributions on only $182K of fundraising spend (61 : 1) — a ratio that suggests this org isn't fundraising-driven in the conventional sense. The Form 990 “fundraising expense” line item is meant to capture solicitation costs (telemarketing, direct mail, digital ad spend); for universities, masjids, foundations, and orgs primarily supported by major gifts or program revenue, that line is small or zero, and the resulting “ratio” reads as meaningless.

The right operational-efficiency lens for an org like this is reserves, payroll composition, and program-expense ratio — see the financial-anomalies section and the multi-year trend dashboard.

Year-over-year trends · through FY 2023

Arrow color = direction × good-when-up

Per-metric direction and magnitude vs. the prior fiscal year. Where the data goes back far enough, the 3-year compound annual growth rate is included — useful for separating one-off spikes from sustained trends.

  • Revenue 51.3% YoY
    $10.94Mprior: $7.23M
    Δ +$3.71M3y CAGR +6.8%

    Total revenue per Form 990 Part I line 12.

  • Contributions 46.3% YoY
    $11.08Mprior: $7.57M
    Δ +$3.51M3y CAGR +7.3%

    Form 990 Part I line 1h — gifts, grants, and contributions received.

  • Investment income 62.2% YoY
    $2Kprior: $1K
    Δ +$8183y CAGR +86.1%

    Form 990 Part VIII line 4 — interest, dividends, and other investment earnings on the org's reserve. For orgs with material reserves, a healthy investment-income trend indicates capital is actually working; near-zero income on a large reserve raises the 'idle capital' question.

  • Total expenses 26.5% YoY
    $9.53Mprior: $7.53M
    Δ +$2.00M3y CAGR +3.7%

    Form 990 Part I line 18 — total functional expenses.

  • Top-officer compensation 24.7% YoY
    $470Kprior: $377K
    Δ +$93K3y CAGR +48.0%

    Form 990 Part IX line 5 — aggregate compensation for officers, directors, key employees, and the five highest-paid employees. Growing in line with revenue is expected for healthy orgs; growing faster than revenue is the question worth asking.

  • Total compensation & benefits 11.1% YoY
    $1.52Mprior: $1.37M
    Δ +$152K3y CAGR +14.1%

    Officer comp + other salaries + payroll tax — total people-cost of running the org.

  • Net assets 44.8% YoY
    $4.56Mprior: $3.15M
    Δ +$1.41M3y CAGR +24.5%

    Form 990 Part X line 33 — assets minus liabilities at year end.

  • Months of reserve 14.4% YoY
    5.7 moprior: 5.0 mo
    Δ +0.7 mo3y CAGR +20.1%

    Net assets ÷ (annual expenses ÷ 12). The trend matters more than the absolute number: a falling reserve year-over-year is the early warning sign of fragility, even if it's still above the 3-month floor.

No financial anomalies surfaced

For the most recent fiscal year on file, the automated checks (fundraising-cost ratio, single-contractor concentration, reserve adequacy, officer-comp share) did not flag anything. This is the default state for most orgs and is meaningful — it means the math on Form 990 Part IX and Part VII Section B doesn’t require an explanation.

Multi-year history

click to expand
YearRevenueExpensesNet assetsContributionsOfficer/KE compInv. income
2023$10.9M$9.5M$4.6M$11.1M$470K$2K
2022$7.2M$7.5M$3.1M$7.6M$377K$1K
2021$8.9M$7.9M$3.5M$9.1M$195K$280
2020$9.0M$8.5M$2.4M$9.0M$145K$331
2019$6.1M$4.7M$1.9M$6.4M$107K$668
2018$2.8M$2.7M$534K$3.1M$100K$10
2017$1.5M$1.7M$342K$1.5M$100K$0
2016$1.4M$802K$556K$1.4M$0$8
2015$3K$3K$0$3K$0$0

Areas where engagement could help — ethical supplier stack

4 flags detected

We detected 4 vendors on Penny Appeal Usa Inc's public website that appear on widely-followed Muslim-community watch lists (BDS, Project Nimbus contractors, documented content-suppression, or Uyghur-surveillance context). Per the §I “transparency over imposition” principle, we publish the facts and the cited basis — we do not adjudicate which boycotts are religiously obligatory. Each donor decides.

  • Stripe
    payment-processor

    Stripe Inc. — co-founder Patrick Collison has made publicly documented donations and statements supporting positions adverse to Muslim humanitarian causes at material scale. Appears on community boycott discussions. Verify current status before publishing org-level findings.

    Evidence found — view
    • https://pennyappealusa.org#calc-8264 additional-methods.min.js"></script><script type="text/javascript" src="https://js.stripe.com/v3/"></script></head> <body class="wp-singular page-template page-…
  • Meta Pixel
    analytics-tracking

    Meta Platforms — documented in multiple reports (BSR external review 2022, Human Rights Watch 2023) for systemic suppression of pro-Palestinian and Arabic-language content during the May 2021 Gaza crisis and ongoing. The Meta Pixel is the user-tracking instrument that feeds Meta's advertising and content-ranking systems. Many Muslim donors who use Facebook/Instagram daily are nonetheless concerned about funding the advertising surface.

    Evidence found — view
    • https://pennyappealusa.org#calc-8264 3%2C170" async=""></script><script type="text/javascript" async="" src="https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js" nonce="d9ba3cb9-be6c-4fac-b526-d4333ae2e…
    • https://pennyappealusa.org#calc-8264 }(window, document,'script', 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); fbq('init', '1941039252789848'); fbq('track', 'PageView'); </script> <noscript><…
  • TikTok Pixel
    analytics-tracking

    ByteDance — Chinese parent company subject to CCP information-sharing obligations under the 2017 National Intelligence Law. Separate concern from BDS/Palestine: the Uyghur surveillance and CCP-data-access context that affects Muslim communities globally. Documented in multiple US/UK government reviews.

    Evidence found — view
    • https://pennyappealusa.org#calc-8264 .8.64/clarity.js"></script><script type="text/javascript" async="" src="https://analytics.tiktok.com/i18n/pixel/static/main.MWJkOTJmOWRkMA.js" data-id="D5NM19BC…
    • https://pennyappealusa.org#calc-8264 tq.methods[n]); return e }, ttq.load = function(e, n) { var i = "https://analytics.tiktok.com/i1
  • Microsoft Clarity
    analytics-tracking

    Microsoft — signed Project Nimbus contract with the Israeli government in 2021 alongside Google and Amazon. Microsoft Clarity is Microsoft's session-replay and behavioral-analytics product. Project Nimbus has been cited by multiple Muslim and human-rights organizations as material support for systems used in the occupied territories.

    Evidence found — view
    • https://pennyappealusa.org#calc-8264 V7N47EJWTBH3TN26TGQGCN/roundtrip.js"></script><script async="" src="https://www.clarity.ms/tag/oidvl8z9sb"></script><script type="text/javascript" async="" src=…
    • https://pennyappealusa.org#calc-8264 <!-- Microsoft Clarity Tag --> <script type="text/javascript"> (function(c,l,a,r,i,t,y){ c[a]=c[a]||function(){(c[a].q=c[a].q||[]).push(arguments)}; t=
Path forward (no judgment — engagement-track)

Most orgs we scan don’t know which of their analytics or payment vendors appear on community watch lists — they inherited the choice from a template or an ads-manager setup. Alternatives exist for every flagged vendor (Helcim/Stax for payment, Plausible/Fathom for analytics, self-hosted PostHog for session replay).

The Ihsan Standard Supplier-Stack Audit goes further than the public-website scan above. We inventory the full vendor stack — payment processors, hosting, CRM, accounting, ad-tech, the back-office tools that don’t show up in HTML — identify ethical alternatives for each, and build a realistic transition timeline staffed against the org’s actual calendar. The audit output is a vendor-by-vendor switch plan, not a shame-list.

Paired with the Khulafāʾ al-Arḍ Stewardship Audit (environmental footprint of sites and vendors, in partnership with the Art and Wilderness Institute’s Green Masjid Initiative), this is the engagement-track ladder we offer every org. See the Attestations & Audits section above for the full set.

Method: automatic vendor detection from public website data. Watch-list basis is the documented public reason each vendor appears on community lists (BDS, Don’t Buy Into Occupation, U.S. Dept. of Commerce Entity List, etc.) — not Ihsan Standard’s own editorial judgment. See the ethical-supplier rubric for the full methodology.

Compensation history

Form 990 Part VII Section A · 9 filings on record

Every officer, director, key employee, and highest-compensated employee with reported pay. Recent year is shown by default — switch tabs for prior years or the unique-people roll-up.

FY 2023

4 paid · 7 unpaid board · total $577K
NameTitleFrom orgRelated orgsOtherTotal
Mostafa MahboobChief Development Officer$129K$0$37K$166K
John RobbinsChief Executive Officer$142K$0$22K$164K
Dawn WilsonCfo And Coo$121K$0$18K$140K
Nadeem RiazMajor Gifts Officer (To Nov &#39;23$105K$0$2K$108K

Compensation detail · Schedule J

IRS Form 990 Schedule J requires officers and key employees with reportable compensation above $150,000 to break out base salary, bonuses, deferred compensation, and non-taxable benefits. From FY 2024.

Name · titleBaseBonusOtherDeferredBenefitsTotal (org)Related orgs
MOSTAFA MAHBOOB
CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
$138K$5K$0$4K$34K$181K
REHAN DAWER
CEO AND CHAIR
$126K$0$0$1K$36K$163K
MUSTAFA HASSAN
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
$130K$0$0$2K$29K$161K
DAWN WILSON
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
$129K$5K$0$4K$16K$154K

Grants made · Schedule I

The organizations and people Penny Appeal Usa Inc re-granted money to, as reported on IRS Form 990 Schedule I. Total disbursed across these10 grants: $148K.

RecipientAmountPurposeYear
ISLAMIC CENTER OF THE TRIAD
EIN 813853065
$33KSERVICES FOR HOMELESS COMMUNITIES, QURBANI2023
MUHSEN
EIN 473187591
$27KSUPPLIES FOR HOMELESS COMMUNITY2024
MUSLIM WOMEN'S ORGANIZATION
EIN 453740080
$25KFEED OUR WORLD; ZAKAT AL-FITR2024
MUSLIM WOMEN'S ORGANIZATION
EIN 453740080
$20KFEED OUR WORLD2023
PALESTINIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY CENTER
EIN 465270907
$10KZAKAT AL FITR, QURBANI2023
ISLAMIC CENTER OF DETROIT
EIN 383537457
$8KZAKAT AL FITR, QURBANI2023
ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF THE WASHINGTON AREA MASJID
EIN 521294196
$8KZAKAT AL FITR, OK SPONORSHIP2023
MASJID ASH SHAHEED
EIN 383663743
$7KZAKAT AL-FITR; QURBANI2024
ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF THE WASHINGTON AREA
EIN 521294196
$6KZAKAT AL-FITR; QURBANI2024
ILM FOUNDATION
EIN 954661915
$5KFEED OUR WORLD2024

Verticals · detected automatically

15 detected · click to expand

Signals automatically extracted from public website data on https://pennyappealusa.org— please verify against the source link before relying on any single tag. “Unknown” means no evidence was found, not that the org doesn’t offer it.

Evidence captured

  • Accepts appreciated stockOrg accepts gifts of publicly traded securities.
    yes
    act our team for instructions at [email&#160;protected] . 📈 donate stock support our work through a tax-efficient stock donation via
    Detected automatically from public website data — please verify.View source →
  • Accepts DAF giftsOrg accepts donor-advised-fund grants.
    yes
    ent stock donation via our trusted partners. donate stock 🎁 donor-advised funds (daf) we accept grants from all daf providers, including f
    Detected automatically from public website data — please verify.View source →
  • Accepts cryptoOrg accepts cryptocurrency donations.
    yes
    donate crypto? unfortunately, at this time we cannot accept crypto donations, however this is something we’re working on. do you accept
    Detected automatically from public website data — please verify.View source →
  • Corporate matching programEmployer-match platform (Benevity, etc.) advertised.
    indicative
    g double your impact through workplace giving programs like benevity and yourcause. check my employer 📝 make a pledge commit to
    Detected automatically from public website data — please verify.View source →
  • Public zakat policyOrg publishes a written zakat policy on its website.
    yes
    ovide a solar well to a community in need. you can view our zakat policy here . can i donate crypto? unfortunately, at this time we
    Detected automatically from public website data — please verify.View source →
  • Eight-category zakat disclosurePolicy explicitly addresses the 8 Quranic categories of zakat recipients.
    yes
    s are identified based upon need and in accordance with the eight categories noted in the holy quran: ‘al fuqara' (the poor) ‘al masakin
    Detected automatically from public website data — please verify.View source →
  • Qurbānī / Udhiya offeredOrg offers qurbānī service for Eid al-Adha.
    yes
    mall change, big difference &noscript=1" /> skip to content qurbani about us why penny appeal usa? meet the team our reports bl
    Detected automatically from public website data — please verify.View source →
  • Zakat al-fitr offeredOrg collects and disburses zakat al-fitr before Eid.
    yes
    kat is obligatory. what is the difference between zakat and zakat al-fitr? zakat al-mal (commonly called “zakat“) is due when a perso
    Detected automatically from public website data — please verify.View source →
  • Fidya offeredOrg accepts and disburses fidya (Ramadan compensation).
    yes
    more zakat &amp; religious giving offerings include zakat, fidyah/kiffarah, sadaqah jariyah, aqiqah, and qurbani. give your
    Detected automatically from public website data — please verify.View source →
  • Audited financials linkedIndependent audit report posted on the site.
    yes
    can i access your financial reports? our annual reports and audited financial statements are available here . do you have corporate match
    Detected automatically from public website data — please verify.View source →
  • Annual report linkedAnnual report posted on the site.
    yes
    are making around the world. read our ramazine see our 2022 annual report penny appeal usa&#8217;s 2022 annual report showcases the i
    Detected automatically from public website data — please verify.View source →
  • Board members listed publiclyGovernance board members named on the website.
    yes
    u can read more on our overhead policy here . who is on the board of directors? you can read more about our board and our team here . how
    Detected automatically from public website data — please verify.View source →
  • Recurring giving
    yes
    against cyclical poverty? give a sustainable gift join our monthly giving program. sustainable programs need sustainable funding. tha
    Detected automatically from public website data — please verify.View source →
  • Valid SSL on donate pageDonation forms served over valid HTTPS.
    indicative
    Evidence found in markup — view
    https://pennyappealusa.org
    Detected automatically from public website data — please verify.View source →
  • Payment processor detected
    indicative
    Evidence found in markup — view
    Stripe
    Detected automatically from public website data — please verify.View source →
    Processors: Stripe

In their own words · Schedule O

Supplemental narratives the org wrote on IRS Form 990 Schedule O — program-activity descriptions, governance explanations, and answers to specific 990 line items. Useful primary-source context that doesn’t fit into the structured fields elsewhere on this page.

  • FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 11B
    FY 2024

    THE BOARD REVIEWS THE DRAFT 990 BEFORE IT IS FILED.

  • FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 12C
    FY 2024

    BOTH THE PENNY APPEAL USA EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK AND BOARD COVENANT OUTLINE THE ORGANIZATION'S CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY. ALL STAFF AND BOARD MEMBERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO DISCLOSE ANY POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN WRITING TO THEIR LINE MANAGER OR CHAIRMAN, RESPECTIVELY. THE POLICY IS REVISITED ANUALLY.

  • FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 15
    FY 2024

    THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS LOOKED AT SALARIES OF COMPARABLE NONPROFITS IN THE AREA AND SPOKE WITH A NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE SECTOR TO DETERMINE A FAIR AND COMPETATIVE SALARY.

No owner attestations on record. Are you the owner? Attest now →