Ukandu

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
464296454
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Portland, OR, USA
Phone
5032762178
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Camps

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,481,169
Expenses
$1,977,386
Assets
$5,986,981
Liabilities
$2,453,028

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JASON HICKOX (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • JASON HICKOX (CEO): $184,014 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Ukandu recognizes the impact childhood cancer has on the entire family. Ukandu aims to provide parents and caregivers a respite from the physical, emotional and financial toll childhood cancer poses to families by providing space for families to gather and experience the 'rights of passage' that may otherwise be missed due to cancer treatment.

What it reported doing in 2024

The camp ukandu program is designed for cancer patients and their siblings between the ages of 8 and 18. The camp program is one week long and serves approximately 125 kids and includes both medical and camp staff. There are several events each year. Ukandu family camp is an additional event and a logical program extension of the 'hope and joy' that camp ukandu has delivered for more than three decades. Acknowledging that too many children will die before age 8, and realizing the benefits of allowing adults the same opportunity to meet their peers who share a cancer journey, ukandu family camp offers the entire family safe and supportive camping experiences. Parents benefit from having a community of peers who understand their unique challenges as much as their children do. Ukandu family camp offers special outdoor adventure programming for the entire family. There are no age restrictions and each member of the family can attend including all siblings. Ukandu corps is a separate service project for young 'leaders' between the ages of 12-16 and is a logical extension of one of ukandu's core values that leadership can come from everywhere. Young people come together to identify a concern in their community that they want to address. They are guided by adult staff and volunteer advisors, but the decisionmaking is all up to the corps.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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 most voting board members are independent. 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: 42
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 71
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 37.3%; rating input score 37
  • Program expense ratio: 64.1%; rating input score 64
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 43.2%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.03; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.41; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.3%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 23.8% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 27% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 32.1% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 37.3% of revenue deployed · 64.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $184K · 14 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $690K reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 37/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.