Upbring
Legal name: Lutheran Social Services of the South Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 741109745
- 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
- 90
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Human Service Organizations
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $125,518,410
- Expenses
- $128,036,220
- Assets
- $75,785,341
- Liabilities
- $22,444,191
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
30 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MICHAEL LOO (CEO)
- HOWARD COX (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HEAD START)
- PABLO HERNANDEZ (SR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ORR PROGRAMS)
- JERONIMO SAENZ (ORR ASSOCIATE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- MICHAEL LOO (CEO): $532,026 total reported compensation
- KRYSTALE BEZIO (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $348,153 total reported compensation
- CAROLYN PAGANONI (CHIEF P&C OFFICER): $268,768 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Our mission is to break the cycle of child abuse by empowering children, families and communities. 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
Our children's services included our foster in Texas program where a family partners with upbring to open their home and their hearts to a child in need, providing support for immediate needs such as food, clothing and shelter. Upbring also provides long-term support to help children build strong bonds with their new family members. Foster parents are trained in trauma-informed care, so they can help their children heal from the circumstances that brought them into foster care. Adoptions occur naturally through the foster in Texas program, and are complemented by domestic and international adoption services to help children find their forever families. Bereal supports young adults aging out of foster care with housing, assistance for basic needs, and a strategy for achieving their life goals.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 86% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 90% 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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 91
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 27
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 92.7%; rating input score 93
- Program expense ratio: 90.7%; rating input score 91
- Fundraising efficiency: $65.35 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th 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: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: -2%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.59; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.3; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2.9%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 9% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 92.7% of revenue deployed · 90.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 6 filed program accomplishments · $116.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $532K · 30 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $7.8M reported
- Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 18 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 16 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 19/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 23/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 56/100.