Your donation attempt encountered a problem. Please refresh the page to try again.
You're faster than our page! Give the page a little longer to finish loading and try your donation again.
5425 TURKEY FARM RD
Durham NC 27705-7903
Durham NC | IRS ruling year: 2004 | EIN: 20-0347301
Mission not available
Great
This charity's score is 96%, earning it a Four-Star rating. If this organization aligns with your passions and values, you can give with confidence.
This overall score is calculated from multiple beacon scores: 90% Accountability & Finance, 10% Leadership & Adaptability. Learn more about our criteria and methodology.
We recognize that not all metrics and beacons equally predict a charity’s success. The percentage each beacon contributes to the organization’s overall rating depends on the number of beacons an organization has earned.
Use the tool below to select different beacons to see how the weighting shifts when only one, two, or three beacons are earned.
Rating histories are available for a growing number of rated organizations. Check back later to see if this organization has a rating history!
The IRS is significantly delayed in processing nonprofits' annual tax filings (Forms 990). As a result, the Accountability & Finance score for Friends of Bonobos is outdated and the overall rating may not be representative of its current operations. Please check with the charity directly for any questions you may have.
Friends of Bonobos has earned a 95% for the Accountability & Finance beacon. See the metrics below for more information.
This beacon provides an assessment of a charity's financial health (financial efficiency, sustainability, and trustworthiness) and its commitment to governance practices and policies.
This Accountability & Finance score represents IRS Form 990 data up until FY 2019, which is the most recent Form 990 currently available to us.
Learn more
Charity Navigator looks for at least 3 board members, with more than 50% of those members identified as independent (not salaried).
The presence of an independent governing body is strongly recommended by many industry professionals to allow for full deliberation and diversity of thinking on governance and other organizational matters.
Source: IRS Form 990
An Audit, Review, or Compilation provides important information about financial accountability and accuracy. Organizations are scored based on their Total Revenue Amount:
Total Revenue Amount | Expectation to Receive Credit |
---|---|
$1 million or higher | Expected to complete an audit |
$500,000 - $1 million | Expected to complete an audit, review, or compilation |
Less than $500,000 | No expectation (removed from scoring methodology) |
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a conflict of interest policy on the Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy protects the organization and by extension those it serves, when it is considering entering into a transaction that may benefit the private interest of an officer, director and/or key employee of the organization.
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990 that the organization has this process in place as an accountability and transparency measure.
An official record of the events that take place during a board meeting ensures that a contemporaneous document exists for future reference.
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a document retention and destruction policy per the Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy establishes guidelines for the handling, backing up, archiving and destruction of documents. These guidelines foster good record keeping procedures that promote data integrity.
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a whistleblower policy per the Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy outlines procedures for handling employee complaints, as well as a confidential way for employees to report financial or other types of mismanagement.
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks for a website on the Form 990 as an accountability and transparency metric.
Nonprofits act in the public trust and reporting publicly on activities is an important component.
Source: IRS Form 990
The Liabilities to Assets Ratio is determined by Total Liabilities divided by Total Assets (most recent 990). This ratio is an indicator of an organization’s solvency and/or long-term sustainability.
Liabilities to Assets Ratio | Amount of Credit Received |
---|---|
Less than 50% | Full Credit |
50% - 59.9% | Partial Credit |
60% or more | No Credit |
Source: IRS Form 990
The Program Expense Ratio is determined by Program Expenses divided by Total Expense (average of most recent three 990s). This measure reflects the percent of its total expenses a charity spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver.
Program Expense Percentage | Amount of Credit Received |
---|---|
70% or higher | Full Credit |
60% - 69.9% | Partial Credit |
50% - 59.9% | Zero Points for Program Expense Score |
Below 50% | Zero Points for Both Program Expense AND Liabilities to Assets Scores |
Source: IRS Form 990
No Data Available
Revenue and expense data is not available for this organization. This data is only available if this charity has at least one year of electronically-filed Form 990 data filed within the last six years.
No Data Available
Key Persons data is currently unavailable for this organization. This data is only available if this charity has at least one year of electronically-filed Form 990 data filed within the last six years.
Below are some key data points from the Exempt Organization IRS Business Master File (BMF) for this organization. Learn more about the BMF on the IRS website
Activities:
Activity data not reported from the IRS
Foundation Status:
Organization which receives a substantial part of its support from a governmental unit or the general public 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) (BMF foundation code: 15)
Affiliation:
Independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations). (BMF affiliation code: 3)
The Form 990 is a document that nonprofit organizations file with the IRS annually. We leverage finance and accountability data from it to form Encompass ratings. Click here to search for this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website (if any are available). Simply enter the organization's name (Friends of Bonobos) or EIN (200347301) in the 'Search Term' field.
This organization was impacted by COVID-19 in a way that effected their financial health in 2020. This normally would have reduced their star rating. Due to the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, we give charities such as this one the opportunity to share the story of COVID's impact on them, and doing this pauses our revision of their rating. Charities may submit their own pandemic responses through their nonprofit portal.
Friends of Bonobos reported being impacted by COVID-19 in the following ways:
Program Delivery
Fundraising Capacity
Staffing
Administrative Capacity
Grants Sent
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's operations financially:
Large donations to our organization declined. Visitor and media revenue ceased altogether.
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's delivery of programs:
Due to social distancing we had to pause our community development and education programs. Our largest programs continued, but we had to employ significant PPE protocols to keep the staff and bonobos safe.
How this organization adapted to changing conditions caused by COVID-19:
We shifted resources from our smaller programs to our primary programs to keep them alive. We conducted all education, awareness and fundraising activities online.
Innovations the organization intends to continue permanently after the pandemic:
We will continue to use social media and other online tools and resources to generate revenue for our programs.
Not Currently Scored
Friends of Bonobos cannot currently be evaluated by our Impact & Results methodology because either (A) it is eligible, but we have not yet received data; (B) we have not yet developed an algorithm to estimate its programmatic impact; (C) its programs are not direct services; or (D) it is not heavily reliant on contributions from individual donors.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.
Learn More
No 990 Program Data Found
Friends of Bonobos cannot currently be evaluated by our Culture & Community methodology because we have not received data from the charity regarding its Constituent Feedback or Equity Practices strategies.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.
Learn More
Friends of Bonobos has earned a 100% for the Leadership & Adaptability beacon. See the metrics below for more information.
This beacon provides an assessment of the organization's leadership capacity, strategic thinking and planning, and ability to innovate or respond to changes in constituent demand/need or other relevant social and economic conditions to achieve the organization's mission.
Learn more
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization's mission
We're on a mission to save and protect bonobos and their rainforest home - forever. We do this through rescue, sanctuary, and rewilding, and by partnering with local communities to tackle root causes and save rainforest.
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s vision.
A world where bonobos can live safely and peacefully in their homes in the rainforest.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking and goal setting through sharing their most important strategic goals.
Goal One: To rescue endangered bonobos orphaned by the illegal trade in wildlife, and to provide them with essential care and sanctuary as long as needed, and then to release them back to the rainforest.
Goal Type: This goal reflects our commitment to further our advocacy work for our organization and or cause area.
Goal Two: To raise global and local awareness of endangered bonobos and the root causes that threaten their survival.
Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.
Goal Three: To partner with and support Congolese communities near bonobo habitat to save rainforests and reduce poverty through conservation.
Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.
The nonprofit provides evidence of investment in leadership development
- Year long course provided for Executive Director in US to support program growth goals - Executive coaching provided for various leadership positions
The nonprofit provides evidence of leadership through focusing externally and mobilizing resources for the mission.
Strategic Partnerships
Networks of Collective Impact Efforts
Thought Leadership
Raising Awareness
Community Building
We are part of an association of African sanctuaries (PASA) that works together to support wildlife across the sector. We raise awareness online for our bonobo consortium of sister organizations and for Amis des Bonobos du Congo, the only bonobo sanctuary and rewilding program in the world. We publish about our sector (via our Board of Directors), present at conferences, and our team in the DRC organizes local communities, government officials, and NGOs in the fight against poaching. Our team in the DRC has also organized symposiums around wildlife conservation with all non-profit entities working in our sector in the DRC.
The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
When the team in the DRC paused all non-essential activities, they had time to reflect and plan new activities to combat the increase in poaching. When we had to close the sanctuary to only essential personnel and run our programs with fewer people, personnel on-the-ground found ways to work across multiple areas within the sanctuary, increasing our overall efficiency. When we could not meet in person with our supporters, we increased our overall communication online and in that way grew the overall support of our organization and drastically increased the quantity of people who have heard about bonobos.
Impact & Results
Accountability & Finance
Culture & Community
Leadership & Adaptability
The Giving Basket is having some issues. If you wish to donate, please refresh the page. If the problem persists contact us.
Cart ID: Not Assigned
The Giving Basket is having some issues. If you wish to donate, please refresh the page. If the problem persists contact us.
Cart ID: Not Assigned