Black Sustainability Inc.

Legal name: Black Sustainability Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
853364819
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Atlanta, GA, USA
Phone
(678) 805-7063
Rating
60
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$498,578
Expenses
$560,477
Assets
$822,952
Liabilities
$-1,624

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Raina Turner-Greenlea (Executive Director)

People named in this filing

  • Raina Turner-Greenlea (Executive Director)
  • Yeamah Brewer (Vice Chair)
  • Nobantu Ankoanda (Finance Director)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To mobilize sustainability practitioners of Afrikan descent to (re)build sustainable communities & economies that restore balance to our planet.

What it reported doing in 2025

All Other Programs (Education/Digital Platform, SBSR, Eco-Building/GWA, Community Development, 10x$10k, Alt. Economics, Green Lifestyle, Learning Journey, Sustainable Agriculture): BSI advanced its mission through multiple program areas including: the Black Sustainability eInstitute (BSeI) online learning platform and State of Black Sustainability Report (SBSR), a community-owned research publication spanning 12 industry houses; the Global Workforce Academy (GWA), a nationally registered apprenticeship program providing clean energy and construction credentials; Community Development programming including the Red, Black & Green Fund Regranting Initiative; and education and convening across Sustainable Agriculture, Alternative Economics, Green Lifestyle, and Learning Journey programs connecting people of Afrikan descent to sustainability resources and development opportunities.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 89% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and a relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 93
  • Accountability: 12
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 56.1%; rating input score 56
  • Program expense ratio: 50.1%; rating input score 50
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2,147.8 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -12.4%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.47; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 25.4% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.3% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 34.8% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 11 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 56.1% of revenue deployed · 50.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 3 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $281K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 24 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2021 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 56/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 50/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 51/100.