Responsibility

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
330437290
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
San Ysidro, CA, USA
Phone
6192536384
Rating
53
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Philanthropy, Voluntarism, and Grantmaking Foundations N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$222,654
Expenses
$576,261
Assets
$4,077,603
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARILYN K SIMON (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • ARACELI MORENO (Executive Dir.): $160,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Provide necessary education where no else will or is able has been Responsibilitys mission statement for thirty-four years. Our organization has literacy programs in Mexico, Nicaragua, and the United States. During the past thirty-six years, Responsibility has been educating preschoolers through teenagers who live in what is now called The Old Tijuana garbage dump. Since 2008, we have been providing education to the children who scavenge the Matagalpa, Nicaragua, garbage dump. In the United States, the founder of Responsibility lectures on life in third world countries at kindergartens, elementary schools, high schools, and colleges.

What it reported doing in 2024

Provide necessary education where no else will or is able has been Responsibilitys mission statement for thirty-four years. Our organization has literacy programs in Mexico, Nicaragua, and the United States. During the past thirty-six years, Responsibility has been educating preschoolers through teenagers who live in what is now called The Old Tijuana garbage dump. Since 2008, we have been providing education to the children who scavenge the Matagalpa, Nicaragua, garbage dump. In the United States, the founder of Responsibility lectures on life in third world countries at kindergartens, elementary schools, high schools, colleges, social service organizations, and churches.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 65% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

MIXED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 54
  • Accountability: 0
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 77.1%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 9th 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 0 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -158.8%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.08; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 27.8%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.6% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.4% per year; rating input score 0; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 77.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 6 board members independent · 0 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $444K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $160K · 6 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 26 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grants require schedule f did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.