Kupu
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 510652665
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Honolulu, HI, USA
- Phone
- 8087351221
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Youth Development Programs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $17,077,289
- Expenses
- $18,110,285
- Assets
- $11,734,823
- Liabilities
- $6,887,393
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
19 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- TIMOTHY JOHNS (PRESIDENT)
- BRADLEY TOTHEROW (VICE PRESIDENT)
- JOHN LEONG (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- JOHN LEONG (CEO): $290,068 total reported compensation
- JANICE PAK (CFO): $207,855 total reported compensation
- MATT BAUER (COO): $204,089 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Kupu programs are training young adults in the emerging "green" job sector to help make Hawaii more self-sustaining, while engaging these youth members in relevant and important community service throughout the state.
What it reported doing in 2024
Kupu provided opportunities for young adults to get involved in to serve their community and learn the importance of environmental stewardship while gaining valuable experience, knowledge, and skills that assist them in continuing their life pursuits. Kupu had the following impact this year: cleared nearly 485,000 invasive species restored 92,332 native plants distributed $494,587 in education awards provided service and training opportunities to 400 participants
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 65% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 78
- Transparency & Controls: 84
- Accountability: 96
- Sustainability: 22
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 82.2%; rating input score 82
- Program expense ratio: 77.4%; rating input score 77
- Fundraising efficiency: $20.58 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 98.8%; rating input score 99; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -6%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.65; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.59; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 5.5%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 14.2% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 11.8% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 13.4% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 82.2% of revenue deployed · 77.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 14 of 15 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $14M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $290K · 19 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 16 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 11 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 15/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 58/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 22/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 46/100.