UnfoldingWord

Overview

Mission

The Organization exists to see the Church in every People Group and the Bible in Every Language. We work with Church leaders around the world who are seeking to establish their churches in sound doctrine but lack access to Bible translations in the languages their people speak. By equipping these leaders with biblical resources and effective training, they are empowered to translate the Bible with excellence and efficiency in every language that needs one. © Copyright 2024 unfoldingWord. All Rights Reserved. | 13485 Veterans Way Suite 460, Orlando, FL 32827 Loading Comments...

What it reported doing in 2025

Strategic Language Resources: The Strategic Language Resources (SLR) portfolio aims to address the resource gaps and challenges that impede Bible translation, particularly in unreached communities. It provides open-licensed and accessible resources and tools to empower local church networks to lead translation efforts. This approach ensures sustainable access to Scripture in the languages that resonate most with these communities. The portfolio focuses on several key needs, including equipping church networks with resources to reach unreached people groups and translate the Bible into their heart languages. It also aims to enhance accessibility by providing unrestricted access to Bible translation sources and training materials in languages the global church understands. Additionally, it seeks to overcome barriers, such as reliance on all-rights-reserved English resources.In 2025, the Organization continued to expand and strengthen its Strategic Language Resources to support church-led Bible engagement and translation worldwide. The Organization completed English Book Package entries covering 21,102 verses, representing 67% of Scripture, and finalized 30 additional Book Packages, bringing the total to 318. The Organization also added one new Strategic Language to the Book Package process, bringing the total to 16.The Organization completed the First Principles of Bible Translation video series and presented it at the Eurasia Distribution and Media Consultation (EMDC), equipping church and ministry leaders with foundational translation concepts.In 2025, the Organization developed and tested a new training suite, Foundations of Bible Translation (Foundations BT), designed specifically for oral-preference and first-time translation teams. This suite includes six instructional videos, a simplified Bible translation framework, and AI-powered access to unfoldingWord's core translation guides. Foundations BT introduces a clear, visual, and community-based process built around three core principles: Understand, Translate, and Check, with practical guiding questions that help teams apply these principles in their own cultural and ministry contexts. The Organization successfully tested this approach in 17 countries, demonstrating its effectiveness in equipping local churches to engage Scripture translation in sustainable and accessible ways.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
141888977
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2016
Headquarters
Orlando, FL, USA
Phone
4079003005
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Management & Technical Assistance
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 51
  • Accountability: 92
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.7%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 76.1%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.56 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.6%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.35; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.32; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.4%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18.2% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 22.2% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 22% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 75.7% of revenue deployed · 76.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $7.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $196K · 13 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $4.1M reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 annual filings from 2012 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • David Reeves (President & CEO): $196,050 total reported compensation
  • Timothy Jore (Innovation & Strategy): $154,588 total reported compensation
  • Christopher Klapp (Research & Development): $140,347 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2025.