Uca Waves
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 934870887
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2024–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2023
- Location
- Cary, NC, USA
- Phone
- 6308635579
- Rating
- 70
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Human Service Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $614,431
- Expenses
- $238,439
- Assets
- $375,992
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
4 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Jian Chen (President & CEO)
People named in this filing
- Jian Chen (President & CEO)
- Paohwa Lin (Treasurer)
- Jennifer Tu (Secretary)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Raise awareness of the mental health challenges that young Asian Americans face due to familial, cultural, and societal factors; Develop community support and resources to improve youth mental health; Promote cultural sensitivity in psychological well-being and interventions; Encourage civic engagement in public policies to address mental health issues
What it reported doing in 2024
Funded by the BCBS NC Foundation, UCA WAVES started to conduct the Identifying NC AAPI Health Priorities project, the first research study in the state of North Carolina focusing on AAPI health care experiences. We partnered with the Karen Community Farm, and several other AAPI community organizations to conduct surveys, interviews, and data collection; and partnered with North Carolina Central University and University of North Carolina for data analysis and research.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 94% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 60
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 76
- Sustainability: 82
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 36.2%; rating input score 36
- Program expense ratio: 93.3%; rating input score 93
- Fundraising efficiency: $87.15 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 85; 85th 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: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 61.2%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.58; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- Where the money goes: 36.2% of revenue deployed · 93.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $222K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
- Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
- Schedules: 2 filed schedules
- Filing history: 1 filing year from 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 36/100.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.