Our Finances

The Wolverines Academy was launched in 2013 by Tom Jones, the Founder and CEO of Iridium Technology.  The program was originally called the Iridium Scholars, but we have now moved 100% to the Wolverines Academy branding. From 2013 through early 2022, the program has been funded primarily by Tom and his wife Kanitta (“Lek”) through their family charitable foundation. Iridium Technology (as a company) also contributed 10,000 Thai Baht every month – about $300/month.  When Iridium was purchased by BigHand in early 2022, BigHand committed to continuing the 10,000 Thai Baht monthly transfers, which is greatly appreciated. Tom and Lek contribute more than $1000 every month in direct scholarships to the high school and university Wolverines Scholars.

We are working to get approved as a 503(c)(1) charity in 2023, which will allow us to accept donations.  We are quite excited to achieve this, because:

•  Tom and Lek will now be able to make their donations from their family foundation (Donor Advised Fund), allowing them to make larger donations to expand the program
• We will be able to accept donations from people who want to sponsor individual scholars since we will now be a registered charity
• We will be able to greatly expand the program, the number of scholarship recipients, and the number of schools that we sponsor
• We will be able to solicit one-time donations for special projects
• Through their foundation, Tom and Lek will continue to cover all operating costs, meaning that 100% of any external donations will go straight to the students
• We are committed to financial transparency. In the spirit of this, the details of our finances will be clearly available on our website. Donors can be sure that 100% of their donations are going straight to the students

Please contact us if you would be interested in sponsoring a student once we have achieved our 503(c)(1) standing.