Fostering Unity

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
844828076
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Acton, CA, USA
Phone
2132690000
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$651,209
Expenses
$473,871
Assets
$153,754
Liabilities
$153,754

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DOROTHY DANIELS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DOROTHY DANIELS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $102,876 total reported compensation
  • CYNTHIA BERTRAND (DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS): $72,237 total reported compensation
  • MELISSA DANIELS (CLINICAL DIRECTOR): $70,882 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Fostering Unity will improve outcomes for children in the foster care system through child centered family strengthening programs, enhanced community partnerships and intentional caregiver support.

What it reported doing in 2025

In partnership with the CA Foster Youth Initiative AmeriCorps Program, C.A.R.E. Service Specialists (CSS) and Fostering Unity staff provide child-centered family-strenthening education and support, resource navigation through community partnerships, and mentoring services. All Fostering Unity services are available to relatives and non-relatives foster parents, adoption families, reunifying biological families, children and youth in out-of-home placements and Transition Aged Youth in the foster care system. This program is free and furthers our mission to improve outcomes for children within the foster care program.

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 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 43
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.8%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 33.3%; rating input score 33; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 27.2%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.32; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 51.9%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 25.6% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 27.2% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 61.5% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72.8% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 3 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
  • Leadership: top reported pay $103K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 33/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 16/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.