Nabu Global Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
900888570
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
6467658319
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Libraries

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,717,897
Expenses
$3,144,670
Assets
$362,165
Liabilities
$314,516

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ISABEL SHEINMAN (CEO (STARTING 7/24))
  • TANYELLA EVANS (CEO (THROUGH 6/24))

Highest reported compensation

  • CAMILLE PARK (COO): $222,042 total reported compensation
  • DAVID ACREE (CONTROLLER): $125,287 total reported compensation
  • TANYELLA EVANS (CEO (THROUGH 6/24)): $118,559 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Nabu's mission is to solve the global literacy crisis by providing culturally relevant, bilingual storybooks in mother tongue languages so that every child can read and rise to their full potential. Through innovative technology and strategic partnerships, we are creating a world where literacy is accessible to all.

What it reported doing in 2024

Through the authentic book creation lab, nabu's global creative team works with local creators in the communities and cultures where we work to publish collections of authentic, culturally relevant children's books in mother tongue languages. Our goal is to ensure that every child has free access to the essential books that they require to learn to read. Our creative process provides a platform for authors to publish fun, bilingual children's books, while honoring and preserving cultural heritage and empowering children to see themselves and their lives reflected in the pages of the stories they read. In 2024, we worked with creatives around the world to author, illustrate, and publish 176 children's stories in 11 languages.

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 99% 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 48
  • Accountability: 80
  • Sustainability: 5
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 68.3%; rating input score 68
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.06 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Fail
    • 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; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 72.7%; rating input score 73; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: -83.1%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.12; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.87; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 18.2%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 19.8% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 17.6% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.2% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 68.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $222K · 13 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 8 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 5/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 8/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.