Born This Way Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
452752227
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
3019519090
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public Foundations

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,032,453
Expenses
$6,939,064
Assets
$9,021,963
Liabilities
$188,452

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CYNTHIA GERMANOTTA (DIRECTOR, PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • CYNTHIA GERMANOTTA (DIRECTOR, PRESIDENT): $312,996 total reported compensation
  • RACHEL MARTIN (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $268,452 total reported compensation
  • GETENESH M YILMA (VP, CONTENT AND BRAND): $170,105 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Born this way foundation empowers and inspires young people to build a kinder, braver world that supports their mental health.

What it reported doing in 2024

We engage youth through programs that amplify their stories and celebrate the kinder, braver world they're already building. Channel kindness is our digital platform inviting young people to put compassion into action through storytelling and community engagement. In 2024, our editors helped 142 youth share their stories, each paired with suggested actions to inspire change. The platform has featured 2k+ stories from 61 countries to date. We also host the free channel kindness storytellers club, a writing workshop that helps youth turn their perspectives into powerful narratives. In 2024, we engaged 249 participants through virtual and in-person sessions. #bekind365, our digital platform encouraging intentional daily kindness, has engaged 55k people across 119 countries, pledging 20m+ kind acts to date.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 97% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 44% for direct work, and 56% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 98.2%; rating input score 98
  • Program expense ratio: 85.3%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.68 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 16th 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: -15%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.3; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 21.1%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.5% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.2% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.7% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 98.2% of revenue deployed · 85.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 6 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $5.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $313K · 13 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $318K reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 33 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 25 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 46/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.