Hug It Forward Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
270909586
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2011, Form 990-N 2009
Location
Littleton, CO, USA
Phone
8588882626
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community, Neighborhood Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$86,770
Expenses
$196,522
Assets
$160,080
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Zach Balle (President)

People named in this filing

  • Dave Watson (Chairman of the Board)
  • Zach Balle (President)
  • Adam Flores (Secretary/Treasurer)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

Hug It Forward is an organization that empowers communities in developing countries to build schools. Entire communities come together to make the dream of educational opportunity a reality, by using Hug It Forward's funding and expertise to build their own school.

What it reported doing in 2024

BOTTLE SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION. In 2024, Hug It Forward facilitated the construction of 9 schools in Guatemala; 6 schools completed and 3 schools in process. Due to the method of construction, these schools are known as "bottle schools". Bottle schools are schools built using post-and-beam construction, with concrete columns and beams reinforced with rebar. The walls are filled with "eco-bricks" as insulation, made from plastic bottles stuffed with inorganic trash, which comes from their immediate environment. Entire communities come together to build a more sustainable educational infrastructure that replaces dilapidated, unsafe, and dangerously overcrowded schoolrooms, which are often made from adobe, corrugated metal, or cornstalks, with dirt floors. Before Hug It Forward issues any funding for materials, the community must show commitment to the project by creating approximately 75% of the bottles that are required for the school. A total of 7,500 eco-bricks are required for a 2-classroom school and 10,000 bottles for a 3-classroom school. Teachers and community leaders are responsible for organizing the process of bottle collection and overseeing the volunteering of labor. The local municipality contributes by paying for skilled labor, and the Ministry of Education pays for all teachers, ensuring that these institutions also have ownership in a sustainable project.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 76% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 49
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 86.4%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 81.8%; rating input score 82; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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: 0%; rating input score 0; 21st 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -126.5%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.81; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -8.5% per year; rating input score 0; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -4.3% per year; rating input score 0; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 86.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $170K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 21 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 22/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.