Brothers United Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
352072935
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Indianapolis, IN, USA
Phone
3179310292
Rating
89
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
AIDS Research

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,400,325
Expenses
$3,069,574
Assets
$1,334,866
Liabilities
$329,497

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KHARA SMITH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • KHARA SMITH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $123,904 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of brothers united is to enhance the health and wellness of black communities in Indiana.

What it reported doing in 2025

Brothers united, doing business as bu wellness network, seeks to fulfill its mission through work that falls under three pillars: HIV prevention services, supportive services for people living with HIV, and nutrition services to address food disparities in the indianapolis community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 63% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.8%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 93.9%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: $17.05 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 9.7%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.43; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.25; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 21.3% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 20.9% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 24.6% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.8% of revenue deployed · 93.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $124K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2017 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 54/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 14/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 55/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 31/100.