U4I

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
270596427
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Berkeley, CA, USA
Phone
5104354131
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Human Rights

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,723,629
Expenses
$1,651,185
Assets
$1,070,950
Liabilities
$98,580

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • FIRUZEH MAHMOUDI (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Kevin Schumacher (Managing Director): $126,679 total reported compensation
  • FIRUZEH MAHMOUDI (President): $39,017 total reported compensation
  • REZA GHAZINOURI (Chairman): $24,178 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Working to advance civil liberties in iran by advocating for human rights, supporting civil soceity, and engaging citizens through technology.

What it reported doing in 2025

Under Judicial SpotlightContinuing Toranjs mission started in 2013, U4I has partnered with the original team behind Toranjs success. This project looks specifically to empower advocates, social service providers, and at-risk women on how to address GBV and mitigate its harm. Taking into account lessons learned during several pilot and project cycles, Phoenix develops a new and improved mobile application, providing expanded legal and psychosocial support to survivors while raising awareness about GBV and gender discrimination through workshops and social media. The Phoenix (Toranj) app includes a feature where users can inform their trusted network if they are facing a threat of violence and can seek help in real time. This is useful not only for domestic violence situations but also for alerting friends, family, and attorneys during protests, arrests, or if threatened by neighbors, Basij, or the security forces.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 64% 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 66.7%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 69.5%; rating input score 69
  • Fundraising efficiency: $26.7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4.2%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.65; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.5%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 22.4% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 66.7% of revenue deployed · 69.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $127K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 42/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 36/100.