Unbound
Unbound
Kansas City KS | IRS ruling year: 1983 | EIN: 43-1243999
Unbound's mission is to walk with the poor and marginalized of the world.
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Kansas City KS | IRS ruling year: 1983 | EIN: 43-1243999
Unbound's mission is to walk with the poor and marginalized of the world.
Great
This charity's score is 93%, 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: 85% Accountability & Finance, 10% Leadership & Adaptability, 5% Culture & Community. 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.
Date Published | Form 990 FYE | Overall Score | Overall Rating |
Rating Version: 2.1 | |||
2/1/2021 | 2019 | 91.74 | |
10/1/2019 | 2018 | 91.76 | |
12/21/2018 | 2017 | 91.05 | |
7/1/2018 | 2016 | 90.06 | |
2/1/2017 | 2015 | 92.20 | |
6/1/2016 | 2014 | 92.66 | |
Rating Version: 2.0 | |||
12/1/2015 | 2014 | 87.19 | |
5/1/2015 | 2013 | 88.97 | |
12/20/2013 | 2012 | 88.83 | |
2/1/2013 | 2011 | 85.62 | |
3/1/2012 | 2010 | 89.41 | |
9/20/2011 | 2009 | 92.63 | |
Rating Version: 1.0 | |||
12/1/2010 | 2009 | 88.49 | |
4/1/2010 | 2008 | 94.45 | |
4/1/2009 | 2007 | 94.46 | |
5/1/2008 | 2006 | 94.37 | |
12/1/2006 | 2005 | 94.28 | |
1/1/2006 | 2004 | 94.27 | |
11/1/2004 | 2003 | 94.23 | |
11/1/2003 | 2002 | 94.12 | |
10/15/2002 | 2001 | 94.10 | |
4/15/2002 | 2000 | 94.02 |
The IRS is significantly delayed in processing nonprofits' annual tax filings (Forms 990). As a result, the Accountability & Finance score for Unbound is outdated and the overall rating may not be representative of its current operations.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.
Unbound has earned a 92% 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. More recent filing data is available, but it has not been factored into this score, due to COVID-19's effect on this organization.
Rating update postponed due to COVID-19's impact on this organization. View Unbound's response.
Learn more
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990 that the organization has these governance practices in place.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990
Independent Voting Board Members ... (More) 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. Our analysts check the Form 990 to determine if the independent Board members are a voting majority and also at least five in number. (Less) | |
No Material Diversion of Assets ... (More) A diversion of assets – any unauthorized conversion or use of the organization's assets other than for the organization's authorized purposes, including but not limited to embezzlement or theft – can seriously call into question a charity's financial integrity. We check the charity's last two Forms 990 to see if the charity has reported any diversion of assets. If the charity does report a diversion, then we check to see if it complied with the Form 990 instructions by describing what happened and its corrective action. This metric will be assigned to one of the following categories:
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Audited Financials Prepared by Independent Accountant ... (More) Audited financial statements provide important information about financial accountability and accuracy. They should be prepared by an independent accountant with oversight from an audit committee. (It is not necessary that the audit committee be a separate committee. Often at smaller charities, it falls within the responsibilities of the finance committee or the executive committee.) The committee provides an important oversight layer between the management of the organization, which is responsible for the financial information reported, and the independent accountant, who reviews the financials and issues an opinion based on its findings. We check the charity's Form 990 reporting to see if it meets this criteria.
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Does Not Provide Loan(s) to or Receive Loan(s) From Related Parties ... (More) Making loans to related parties such as key officers, staff, or Board members, is not standard practice in the sector as it may divert the charity's funds away from its charitable mission and can lead to real and perceived conflict-of-interest problems. This practice is discouraged by sector trade groups which point to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act when they call for charities to refrain from making loans to directors and executives. And the IRS is concerned enough with the practice that it requires charities to disclose on their Form 990 any loans to or from current and former officers, directors, trustees, key employees, and other "disqualified persons." Furthermore, some state laws go so far as to prohibit loans to board members and officers. And although employees and trustees are permitted to make loans to charities, this practice can also result in real and/or perceived conflict of interest problems for the charity. Furthermore, it is problematic because it is an indicator that the organization is not financially secure. (Less) | |
Documents Board Meeting Minutes ... (More) An official record of the events that take place during a board meeting ensures that a contemporaneous document exists for future reference. Charities are not required to make their Board meeting minutes available to the public. As such, we are not able to review and critique their minutes. For this performance metric, we are checking to see if the charity reports on its Form 990 that it does keep those minutes. In the future, we will also track and rate whether or not a charity keeps minutes for its committee meetings. (Less) | |
Distributes 990 to Board Before Filing ... (More) Providing copies of the Form to the governing body in advance of filing is considered a best practice, as it allows for thorough review by the individuals charged with overseeing the organization. The Form 990 asks the charity to disclose whether or not it has followed this best practice. If the charity has not distributed its Form 990 to the board before filing, then we deduct 4 points from its Accountability and Transparency score. (Less) | |
Does not Compensate Board Members ... (More) The IRS requires that any compensation paid to members of the charity's governing body be listed on the Form 990. Furthermore, all members of the governing body need to be listed whether or not they are compensated. It is not unusual for some members of the board to have compensation listed. The executive director of the organization frequently has a seat on the board, for instance, and is compensated for being a full time staff member. However, it is rare for a charity to compensate individuals only for serving on its Board of Directors. Although this sort of board compensation is not illegal, it is not considered a best practice. (Less) |
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990, or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization has these policies in place.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990 and organization's website
Conflict of Interest ... (More) Such a 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 or director of the organization. Charities are not required to share their conflict of interest policies with the public. Although we can not evaluate the substance of its policy, we can tell you if the charity has one in place based on the information it reports on its Form 990. If the charity does not have a Conflict of Interest policy, then we deduct 4 points from its Accountability and Transparency score. (Less) | |
Whistleblower ... (More) This policy outlines procedures for handling employee complaints, as well as a confidential way for employees to report any financial mismanagement. Here we are reporting on the existence of a policy as reported by the charity on its Form 990. (Less) | |
Records Retention and Destruction ... (More) Such a policy establishes guidelines for handling, backing up, archiving and destruction of documents. These guidelines foster good record keeping procedures that promotes data integrity. Here we are reporting on the existence of a policy as reported by the charity on its Form 990. If the charity does not have a Records Retention and Destruction Policy, then we deduct 4 points from its Accountability and Transparency score. (Less) | |
CEO Compensation Process ... (More) This process indicates that the organization has a documented policy that it follows year after year. The policy should indicate that an objective and independent review process of the CEO's compensation has been conducted which includes benchmarking against comparable organizations. We check to be sure that the charity has reported on its Form 990 its process for determining its CEO pay. (Less) | |
Donor Privacy ... (More) Donors can be reluctant to contribute to a charity when their name, address, or other basic information may become part of donor lists that are exchanged or sold, resulting in an influx of charitable solicitations from other organizations. Our analysts check the charity's website to see if the organization has a donor privacy policy in place and what it does and does not cover. Privacy policies are assigned to one of the following categories:
The privacy policy must be specific to donor information. A general website policy which references "visitor" or "user" personal information will not suffice. A policy that refers to donor information collected on the website is also not sufficient as the policy must be comprehensive and applicable to both online and offline donors. The existence of a privacy policy of any type does not prohibit the charity itself from contacting the donor for informational, educational, or solicitation purposes. (Less) |
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990, or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization makes this information easily accessible.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990 and organization's website
CEO Salary Listed on 990 ... (More) Charities are required to list their CEO's name and compensation on the Form 990. Our analysts check to be sure that the charities complied with the Form 990 instructions and included this information in their filing. (Less) | |
Board of Directors Listed on Website ... (More) Our analysts check to see if the charity lists Board members on its website. Publishing this information enables donors and other stakeholders to ascertain the make up of the charity's governing body. This enables stakeholders to report concerns to the Board. Charity Navigator does not cross-check the Board members listed on the website with that reported on the Form 990, because the latter often isn't available until more than a year after the charity's fiscal year ends. In that time, the charity's Board members may have changed, and the charity typically reflects those more recent changes on the website. (Less) | |
Key Staff Listed on Website ... (More) It is important for donors and other stakeholders to know who runs the organization day-to-day. Charity Navigator does not cross-check the leadership listed on the website with that reported on the Form 990 because the latter often isn't available until more than a year after the charity's fiscal year ends. In that time, the charity's leadership may have changed and the charity typically reflects those more recent changes on the website. In other words, since the Form 990 isn't especially timely, it can not be used to verify the leadership information published on the charity's site. (Less) | |
Audited Financial Statements Listed on Website ... (More) We check the charity's website to see if it has published its audited financial statements for the fiscal year represented by the most recently filed IRS Form 990. It is important for donors to have easy access to this financial report to help determine if the organization is managing its financial resources well. We currently rate charities on whether or not they publish their audit on their website. (Less) | |
Form 990 Available on Website ... (More) We check the charity's website to see if it has published its most recently filed IRS Form 990 (a direct link to the charity's 990 on an external site is sufficient). It is important for donors to have easy access to this financial report to help determine if the organization is managing its financial resources well. (Less) |
The Liabilities to Assets Ratio is determined by Total Liabilities divided by Total Assets (most recent 990).
Part of our goal in rating the financial performance of charities is to help donors assess the financial capacity and sustainability of a charity. As do organizations in other sectors, charities must be mindful of their management of total liabilites in relation to their total assets. This ratio is an indicator of an organization’s solvency and or long term sustainability. Dividing a charity's total liabilities by its total assets yields this percentage.
Source: IRS Form 990
Determines how long a charity could sustain its level of spending using its net available assets, or working capital, as reported on its most recently filed Form 990. We include in a charity's working capital unrestricted and temporarily restricted net assets, and exclude permanently restricted net assets. Dividing these net available assets in the most recent year by a charity's average total expenses, yields the working capital ratio. We calculate the charity's average total expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
The amount spent to raise $1 in charitable contributions. To calculate a charity's fundraising efficiency, we divide its average fundraising expenses by the average total contributions it receives. We calculate the charity's average expenses and average contributions over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
As reported by charities on their IRS Form 990, this measure reflects what percent of its total budget a charity spends on overhead, administrative staff and associated costs, and organizational meetings. Dividing a charity's average administrative expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
This measure reflects what a charity spends to raise money. Fundraising expenses can include campaign printing, publicity, mailing, and staffing and costs incurred in soliciting donations, memberships, and grants. Dividing a charity's average fundraising expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
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. Dividing a charity's average program expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Organizations that demonstrate consistent annual growth in program expenses are able to outpace inflation and thus sustain their programs year to year. These organizations also supply givers with greater confidence by maintaining broad public support for their programs. We compute the average annual growth of program expenses using the following formula: [(Yn/Y0)(1/n)]-1, where Y0 is a charity's program expenses in the first year of the interval analyzed, Yn is the charity's program expenses in the most recent year, and n is the interval of years passed between Y0 and Yn.
Source: IRS Form 990
This chart displays the trend of revenue and expenses over the past several years for this organization, as reported on their IRS Form 990.
Presented here are this organizations key compensated staff members as identified by our analysts. This compensation data includes salary, cash bonuses and expense accounts and is displayed exactly how it is reported to the IRS. The amounts do not include nontaxable benefits, deferred compensation, or other amounts not reported on Form W-2. In some cases, these amounts may include compensation from related organizations. Read the IRS policies for compensation reporting
Scott Wasserman, President, CEO
$228,073 (0.17% of Total Expenses)
Current CEO and Board Chair can be found in the Leadership & Adaptability report below.
Source: IRS Form 990 (page 7), filing year 2020
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 (Unbound) or EIN (431243999) 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.
Unbound reported being impacted by COVID-19 in the following ways:
Program Delivery
Fundraising Capacity
Revenue
Balance Sheet
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's operations financially:
While revenues were up slightly in 2020, they fell below forecasted levels. This was due to fundraising limitations at in-person presentations. Unbound saw a nearly 60% drop in weekend appeals at churches, our main source of new sponsors for children, young adults and elders in need. This led to a record net loss in sponsorships of more than 8,500, which in turn had a negative impact on revenues and will affect our organization for years to come. Unbound received a Paycheck Protection Program loan. The sponsorship losses and PPP loan that helped to mitigate the short-term impact were reflected in our revenue and balance sheet for 2020.
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's delivery of programs:
Unbound’s cash transfer method of distributing aid continued without interruption, providing a lifeline for sponsored individuals and their families in the global health crisis. While in-person interactions between staff and families were disrupted — including home visits by social workers, community gatherings, mothers group meetings and other activities — local Unbound teams stayed connected with families by communicating with group leaders and other members with access to technology. Local teams focused on COVID prevention strategies and used cell phones, messaging apps, social media, radio broadcasts and other means to pass along important health and safety information and stay connected with families.
How this organization adapted to changing conditions caused by COVID-19:
Unbound adapted its programs to respond to needs created by the pandemic, including accelerating the use of cash transfers and expanding digital communication capabilities, both of which had already begun before the crisis. Many Unbound programs around the world saw families shifting their sponsorship resources to immediate needs such as food. The flexibility of local programs and Unbound’s cash transfer method of distributing aid allowed families to use funds for what they needed most. As education moved online, scholarship students were encouraged to use funds for education-related technology needs. The program’s required service component was adapted to allow for distance completion. Many scholars focused on COVID-19 prevention initiatives in the community, while some continued with tutoring younger students and other community programming to sponsored members using virtual methods.
Innovations the organization intends to continue permanently after the pandemic:
Innovations in digital communication will continue post-pandemic. Our organization concluded that we need to have a more complete digital management package (micro-program dashboard/app) for families in the program, for the sake of better efficiency and more ongoing communication. For correspondence between sponsors and sponsored members, we need streamlined communication. The advantages the digital methods offer are faster delivery of correspondence, faster collection of correspondence, and providing contactless options that protect the health and safety of staff members and sponsored individuals and their families. We reaffirmed the fact that we need to continue exploring digital options to increase communication with families. An app will give them a tool to manage their own participation in the program.
Not Currently Scored
Unbound 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.
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Unbound reported its two largest programs on its FY 2019 Form 990 as:
Spent in most recent FY
Percent of program expenses
Sponsorship
Spent in most recent FY
Percent of program expenses
Scholarships
Unbound has earned a 100% for the Culture & Community beacon. See the metrics below for more information.
This beacon provides an assessment of the organization's culture and connectedness to the community it serves.
Learn more
100% of beacon score
This organization reported that it is collecting feedback from the constituents and/or communities it serves. Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations that engage in inclusive practices, such as collecting feedback from the people and communities they serve, may be more effective.
Who are the people you serve with your mission? Describe briefly.
We partner with families of children, youth and elders living in poverty in 19 countries around the world.
How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Paper surveys, Community meetings or town halls
How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
With whom does your organization share the feedback you got from the people you serve?
The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders
How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship with them or shifted power - over decisions, resources, rules or in other ways - to them?
Obtaining feedback from the people served has centered their voices and experiences in the key decisions that guide our program development. Results from evaluations and feedback surveys are regularly discussed in conversations for annual program planning and meetings regarding policies and funds. The feedback we receive holds us accountable to the poor and marginalized children, youth, elders and their families that we aim to serve. It is their feedback that defines the value of Unbound’s programs ensuring that we are not just offering our highest quality support but also innovating to improve our offered programs. By regularly collecting feedback on outcomes at global and local levels, we aim to offer a program that is truly owned and developed in the vision of the program participants.
What challenges does your organization face in collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Other means
Briefly describe a recent change that your organization made in response to feedback from the people you serve.
A global level example combines learnings from personal interviews with program participants, feedback from staff and an evaluation on benefit use by sponsored families. It was determined that the practice of requiring official receipt submission for purchases made with benefit money was not worth the cost. The practice of collecting receipts limited where benefits could be purchased, often eliminating the possibility of local stores, it was labor intensive for program staff to verify receipts, and, as discovered in the evaluation, an elimination of this practice did not increase the purchase of temptation goods. With this information our leadership decided to discontinue the global policy requiring receipts and advocate for policy change in program locations where the practice existed.
This organization has not provided information regarding the Equity Practices it is presently implementing. As such, the organization has not earned a score on this metric. Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations implementing effective equity policies and practices can enhance a nonprofit's decision-making, staff motivation, innovation, and effectiveness.
Unbound 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.
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The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization's mission
Unbound's mission is to walk with the poor and marginalized of the world.
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s vision.
Unbound exists to change the world’s view of the poor, to build an inclusive community dedicated to advancing human dignity and eliminating poverty in all its forms.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking and goal setting through sharing their most important strategic goals.
Goal One: Program evaluation: Continue to expand and implement methods to measure and report accomplishments of families at local and global levels.
Goal Type: Invest in the capacity of our organization (financial, management, technical, etc.).
Goal Two: Poverty Stoplight: Implement a framework to help families articulate and prioritize their individual goals for participation in the program.
Goal Type: New program(s) based on observed changes in needs among our constituencies/communities served.
Goal Three: Agents of Change: Expand new program to empower local Unbound groups to improve their communities.
Goal Type: New program(s) based on observed changes in needs among our constituencies/communities served.
The nonprofit provides evidence of investment in leadership development
After carefully considering our organization’s strategic priorities and needs, the Unbound Governing Board approved an investment in development for our President and CEO. As a result, he was able to participate in the Center for Creative Leadership’s “Leading Strategically Experience.” This course is intended to help leaders improve their strategic leadership skills to achieve goals, drive performance and align short-term action with long-term direction. The program teaches leaders the skills to handle complexity, bridge boundaries and shape organizational culture for success.
The nonprofit provides evidence of leadership through focusing externally and mobilizing resources for the mission.
Networks of Collective Impact Efforts
Thought Leadership
Raising Awareness
Community Building
Unbound engages in thought leadership through participation in public events such as those hosted by Kansas City-based Nonprofit Connect, and through industry groups including Skol World Forum and Cash Learning Partnership. (CaLP creates industry guidance on group cash transfers in a development context vs. aid.) Through our Agents of Change platform, leadership creates a community organizing framework and financial support to allow community members to take action and gain experience in community organizing. Unbound participates in the Child Sponsorship Inter-agency group, a forum for discussing areas of common interest to organizations with international child sponsorship as part of their approach to ending poverty. Leadership ensures the organizational resources are available for marketing and communications activities to raise awareness of our mission and work, and that resources are appropriately aligned with our organization’s strategy and plans to fulfill our mission.
The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
Unbound adapted its programs to respond to needs created by the pandemic. First, many programs around the world saw families shifting their resources to immediate needs such as food. The flexibility of the local programs and Unbound’s cash transfer method of distributing aid allowed families to use funds for what they needed most. Second, Unbound continued to digitize its program with respect to direct benefits made through electronic transfers to individual bank accounts owned by the beneficiaries themselves, and with respect to communication with families. About 94% of families receive sponsorship assistance through cash transfers, which have been a lifeline during the pandemic as workers in the informal economy saw their jobs shut down or significantly restricted. While in-person interactions between Unbound staff and families were disrupted—including home visits by social workers, community gatherings, mothers group meetings and other activities—local Unbound teams stayed connected with families by communicating with group leaders and other members with access to technology. Local teams focused on COVID prevention strategies and used cell phones, messaging apps, social media, radio broadcasts and other means to pass along important health and safety information and stay connected with families. Third, in 2020, Unbound sent more than $2.4 million in emergency COVID assistance to the field to help families in dire need because of the pandemic. The funds were raised from sponsor donations for disaster response and other critical needs. Finally, as education moved online in the pandemic, scholarship students were encouraged to use funds for education-related technology needs. The program’s required service component was adapted to allow for distance completion. Many scholars focused on COVID-19 prevention initiatives in the community, while some continued with tutoring younger students and other community programming to sponsored members using virtual methods.
Impact & Results
Accountability & Finance
Culture & Community
Leadership & Adaptability
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