IGS is a 501(c)3 public charity, tax ID# 26-3645189, and annually files IRS Form‐990 each calendar year, allowing the public to see our finances.

In 2010, IGS's budget allocates for small operational overhead**, with all other money raised going directly to volunteer projects. Volunteer projects cost between $8,000-$10,000 per week, depending upon the location and number of projects. A typical weekly project budget is:

Food & lodging for volunteers $1,500

Transportation around volunteer site $500

Professional labor $1,000

Materials $4,000

Permits/legal $1,000

Who We Help • How We Do It • Benefits • Financials

Governance • Executive Team • Board of Advisors

Note from the Founder • Our Story • Supporting Documents

Contact Us • Our Mission

** Overhead is the cost for basic organizational expenses, such as website costs and very small salaries for 1 or 2 staff members. People who run charities do earn small salaries so that they can spend as much time as possible working to achieve the charity's mission and save lives, instead of spending their time working a second full-time job to pay their basic living expenses.

We understand the concern people have about part of their donations going to expenses such as salaries because there have been stories about charities abusing their money by paying themselves large salaries without doing any actual work. We care too much about our organization to let this happen here. Moreover, the IRS oversees our annual reports to ensure compliance with their laws that charities do not spend the majority of their money on salaries. There are a number of websites that determine if a charity is legitmate and is using its money properly. The main site is Guidestar. You will see us listed.

Some of the most well-known charities, such as the Red Cross and United Way, have tens of thousands of salaried employees that work full-time.

It takes more than full-time hours to run a charity. Our 1 salaried employee worked an average of 65 hours a week last year and made $10,000 for the entire year. The more hours we can work on the charity, the more good your money does, as efficiently and effectively as possible. Salaried employees spend their time working to organize volunteer trips, scout disaster sites, contact materials companies, hold meetings with potential sponsor companies, travel to college campuses to raise awareness and money, etc.