Upbring
Legal name: Lutheran Properties Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 900199991
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Austin, TX, USA
- Phone
- 979-219-0228
- Rating
- 76
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Housing Support
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,195,379
- Expenses
- $1,063,736
- Assets
- $9,207,173
- Liabilities
- $23,593
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
15 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MICHAEL LOO (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- MICHAEL LOO (CEO): $532,026 total reported compensation
- CHAD SEVELAND (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $257,444 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
It’s Our Mission to Break that Cycle. Providing compassionate support to trauma survivors As we continue our mission to break the cycle of child abuse by empowering children and families, we also innovate. Our innovation equips children and families with the latest, most effective therapies to heal. Many young girls have memories full of playing soccer, hosting tea parties with teddy bears, laughing with friends, and falling asleep in the comfort of their room after reading bedtime stories. But the girls who come to our residential programs have experienced a different reality, marked by heartache, fear, and abuse. For them, pursuits like school and sports are cast aside to focus on survival and the search for safety. Despite th.
What it reported doing in 2024
We lease property to a related entity, lutheran social services of the south (dba upbring), which they use to achieve their exempt purpose to break the cycle of child abuse by empowering children, families and communities.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 92% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- 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 most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and program spending has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 83
- Transparency & Controls: 65
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 72
- Growth: 0
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 89%; rating input score 89
- 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: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Missing
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- 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: 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: 11%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.66; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 4.3%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -17.1% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -7% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -11.2% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 89% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $532K · 15 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 16 of 16 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Related organizations: 15 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: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 55/100.