Ubongo

Legal name: Ubongo International

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
812679300
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Phone
+255 685 012 897
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Media, Communications Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$29,221,910
Expenses
$7,247,589
Assets
$32,255,111
Liabilities
$223,903

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MWASI WILMORE (CEO AND PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MWASI WILMORE (CEO AND PRESIDENT): $135,090 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Ubongo is Africa's leading producer of kids' edutainment. As a non-profit social enterprise we create fun, localised and multi-platform educational content that helps kids learn, and leverage their learning to change their lives.

What it reported doing in 2024

The organization creates and distributes edutainment for kids in africa and around the world. It also assists sister and partner organizations in africa to fund creation and distribution of effective edutainment.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 48% for direct work, and 52% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 54
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 93
  • Sustainability: 90
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 23%; rating input score 23
  • Program expense ratio: 92.8%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: $438.41 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • 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; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 75.2%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.45; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.9%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 38.2% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 40.8% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 39.9% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 23% of revenue deployed · 92.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 8 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $6.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $135K · 7 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $914K reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 31 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 23/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.