Boston Ujima Project Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 992270285
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2024–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Boston, MA, USA
- Phone
- 6172494803
- Rating
- 67
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Economic Development
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $9,461,905
- Expenses
- $2,478,307
- Assets
- $11,309,474
- Liabilities
- $4,325,876
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
9 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- NIA K EVANS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- NIA K EVANS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/PRESIDENT): $54,579 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The boston ujima project, inc is a black led, democratic, member-run organization building a cooperative business, arts and investment ecosystem in boston, with a mission to return wealth to working class communities of color. Ujima is bringing together neighbors, workers, business owners, investors, organizers, artists and culture-makers, to create a community-controlled economy in our city. Ujima is swahili for "collective work and responsibility." we are counteracting years of disinvestment in our communities and filling in gaps in financing for our small businesses, grassroots organizations, coops and artists, by bringing together actors from sectors that are traditionally not often in conversation with each other, finance & organizing.
What it reported doing in 2024
Policy & organizingcommitted to actively participating in existing coalitions, prioritizing issues such as community safety, economic and environmental justice, and adopting a multigenerational approach.the policy pillar supports ongoing policy efforts aligned with the mission, membership, and community base, while the organizing pillar strives to build political alignment within our organization and communities.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 93% 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 most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 46
- Transparency & Controls: 88
- Accountability: 89
- Sustainability: 82
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 20.3%; rating input score 20
- Program expense ratio: 74.1%; rating input score 74
- Fundraising efficiency: $114.95 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 97%; rating input score 97; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 73.8%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.56; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.38; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2.2%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- Where the money goes: 20.3% of revenue deployed · 74.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 9 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $55K · 9 people listed
- Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $322K reported
- Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 5 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 20/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 28/100.