Smile Train Inc.

“Smile train amended its articles of incorporation in march of 2023 to update the charitable purposes for which it is formed and for which it will continue to operate.”

“The form 990 was prepared by an international accounting firm in conjunction with the organization's financial department. A copy of the form 990 was reviewed by the audit committee of the board of directors and the form 990 was distributed to all active board members before filing.”

“Each officer, director, trustee, and key employee of the organization is required to annually disclose any conflicts of interest that arise by virtue of employment, board service, or position with the organization. The organization monitors compliance with its conflict-of-interest policy through an annual questionnaire/disclosure statement that is distributed to these individuals. Also, when new directors or key staff join the charity, they are required to complete the questionnaire. Potential conflicts are investigated immediately. Completed questionnaires are available for inspection by any board member and may be reviewed by the organization's legal counsel. Senior management monitors new contracts and invoice payments to ascertain that these policies are adhered to.”

“The board of directors periodically utilizes the services of independent compensation consultants to provide comparative data and opine on the reasonableness of the executive director's and other employees' compensation as well as top executives. All compensation decisions must be approved by smile train's compensation committee and all decisions are memorialized in committee meeting minutes. Form 990, part vi, line 15b the organization has adopted a standardized approach to compensation increases whereby the compensation committee sets rates of increases based on performance as informed by the annual performance management process. The compensation committee of the board of directors also uses comparative compensation data from outside sources. Periodically, an outside compensation consultant is retained to opine on the reasonableness of the compensation of the highest paid executives, including the top 5 highest paid compared to a selected peer group of charitable organizations. All compensation decisions must be approved by smile train's compensation committee and all decisions are memorialized in committee meeting minutes.”

“The organization makes its form 990 available to the public by retaining a copy at its place of business. The form 990 is also published on the internet at www.guidestar.org and on the organization's website at www.smiletrain.org/financials. The organization's financial statements are posted on its website. Copies of documents are also provided to the public at the organization's headquarters in new york city upon request.”

“Smile train's goal is to: 1. Ensure access to safe, high-quality comprehensive cleft care through a proven, sustainable model. 2. Strengthen local health systems through investment, resources, and building the capacity of local medical professionals. 3. Drive innovation by leveraging technology and research to transform global cleft care. 4. Foster a global cleft community through awareness and education to reduce stigma and ensure acceptance of people with clefts. Smile train advances a sustainable solution and scalable global health model for cleft treatment, drastically improving people's lives, including their ability to eat, breathe, speak, hear and, ultimately, thrive. Our "teach a man to fish" model focuses on empowering local medical professionals to provide cleft treatment to people in their own communities. We support education and training for every member of the cleft team, who is then encouraged to train their peers, creating a long-term, sustainable system. With our efficient model and the support of donors and partners around the world, smile train has transformed the lives of more than 1.5 million people by giving them the power of a smile.”

“Form 990, part iii - program service, line 4a (cont'd.) free medical equipment - many of our partners around the world lack access to fully equipped operating rooms or struggle to work with old and/or inadequate equipment. Smile train provides financial support to ensure partners have the crucial surgical and anesthetic equipment they need, including pulse oximeters, capnographs, anesthesia machines, and high-quality surgical instruments. This support allows our partners to meet the high standards of safety and quality our patients deserve. Free comprehensive cleft care - most people with clefts need more than just surgery. They also often require nutrition support to reach a healthy enough weight for surgery, then years of orthodontics, speech therapy, psychosocial support, and other essential care to truly smile and thrive. That's why smile train empowers local providers to offer these critical interventions and provides grants for nutritional counseling and food, speech therapy sessions, orthodontic treatment, and much more. Financial aid for patients and families - some of our patients do not have the funds they need to get to the hospital or to travel home after surgery. Other families need food and lodging while their child is receiving care. We have special programs that provide small stipends for patients and families in need to ensure they can access cleft care safely and without additional stress or being driven into poverty. These expenses exclude $31,660,017 in donated time and services from doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, organizations, companies, other medical professionals, and medical facilities and suppliers.”

“For thousands of people all over the world, smile train is a resource for information about clefts and access to safe, quality cleft care. Through direct mail, websites, newspapers, radio, tv, public service announcements, documentaries, public relations, social media, etc., we raise public awareness about clefts in many countries around the world, including the united states.”

“Smile train supports virtual, hands-on, and workshop-based training opportunities to improve the skill level of cleft care professionals around the globe. Recent initiatives have focused on supporting training programs for nutritionists, speech therapy providers, perioperative nurses, anesthesiologists, and surgeons, including smile train's safe nursing care saves lives program in africa, which has now been scaled and implemented for smile train partners on other continents. Smile train is innovative in our approach to providing quality training to medical professionals worldwide. In low- and middle-income countries, surgeons often do not have access to mentorship and training opportunities to learn the latest techniques and protocols for cleft surgery. We are driven to change this. That's why we have distributed free virtual surgery training materials to our global network of medical professionals. We launched the first open-access, web-based, interactive virtual surgery simulator and its new mobile version, which features unprecedented offline capabilities, to supplement hands-on clinical training for surgeons in remote and limited-resource settings. We have taken on operations of simulare medical, a leading developer of hyper-realistic, hands-on surgical simulators that are considered among the best in the world. This innovative tool will provide smile train partners and cleft care professionals around the world with greater access to high-quality training, particularly in regions with limited resources. And these are just a few of the ways that smile train has leveraged innovation and technology to change the course of medical education while also improving the lives of people born with clefts in low- and middle-income countries.”

“Foreign exchange currency loss -57,161. Rescinded/refunded grants 449,151.”