Deeds Not Words

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
823135054
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Phone
5126957226
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Human Rights

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$748,443
Expenses
$629,128
Assets
$964,685
Liabilities
$86,044

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Gjabrielle Guterrez (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Gjabrielle Guterrez (Executive Director): $47,407 total reported compensation
  • Andrea Reyes (Prior ED): $24,063 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Deeds Not Words seeks to elevate the voices and power of young women through civic engagement and advocacy training, providing them the tools and skills that they need to make change at the local and state level, creating a more gender equal world.

What it reported doing in 2024

Leadership Development: We provide education and training for young people to develop leadership skills and to become effective advocates for change. Our programs include workshops, capstone projects, internships, residencies, webinars, and mentorship opportunities. Deeds Not Words believes that the toughest challenges we face as a state and country cannot be tackled without integrating the voice, leadership, and collaboration of our changemakersand in doing so we transform power by building an organized base of young leaders that are equipped to create the change they know they deserve. Artist in residence: The art world faces persistent gender disparities and underrepresentation. Our program bridges the gap between alented artists and organizations, offering opportunities for artists to develop their careers and advocate for change. This holistic approach empowers artists and organizations, fostering an inclusive, interconnected arts and advocacy ecosystem.Our program primarily targets young BIPOC artists, especially those with backgrounds in graphic design. The focus is on individuals passionate about contributing to social change through the arts. Edith Valle, our Art Director, leads the program and has already graduated four artists. Our collaborative program aims to empower artists through mentorship, workshops, and exhibition opportunities. We emphasize gender equity, inclusivity, and advocacy training. Zines: The Galvanizer, is an art and policy project curated by our Changemakers. Deeds is shifting how policy is consumed and understood by young people by incorporating art to tell stories, raise awareness and inspire action. Since its launch in Spring 2019, each Galvanizer zine has focused on a different issue area, while emphasizing the intersections of reproductive rights with other issues of importance to gender equity. Beyond the Galvanizer, our chapter members across the state have come together to build out their own zines focusing on important issues facing their communities including: criminal justice reform, racial justice, mental health, abortion/reproductive rights, menstrual hygiene, and civic engagement. Over 300 zines have been distributed and are still being used today to bring in new membership and provide vital information about the impacts tudents are facing at their University

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 94% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 64
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 55
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 61.4%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 73.1%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $14.52 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 0%; rating input score 0; 13th 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: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 15.9%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.53; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: Limited

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -6.5% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -8.8% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 25.7% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 61.4% of revenue deployed · 73.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $460K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $47K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: 2 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: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 49/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.