Unique Life Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
113653314
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Bronx, NY, USA
Phone
3474497891
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Reported finances

Revenue
$19,566,918
Expenses
$19,955,661
Assets
$17,644,292
Liabilities
$11,050,303

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • AKWASI A ACHAMPONG (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • AKWASI A ACHAMPONG (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $221,370 total reported compensation
  • RAJA GRAY (DEPT. EXEC. DIRECTOR): $179,819 total reported compensation
  • ERIK PATT (CFO): $162,600 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Unique life inc. Is built on the concept of person-centered planning, setting goals, and improving the quality of life for our individuals through enrichment programs, structured activities, volunteer work and more. We provide our individuals with a variety of resources that will allow them to live a meanigful and integrated life within their community.

What it reported doing in 2024

Iss - individual support services (housing subsidy)provides rental assistance to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who wish to live on their own or in a shared environment. Other than personal services - provides funding on a limited basis to aid with goods.fi fiscal intermediary servicesoffers support to a participant who chooses to self-direct an individualized budget. Such support includes processing of approved goods and services; fiscal accounting and reporting of budget expenditures and ensuring all documentation meets medicaid compliance.support brokeragesupports people with developmental disabilities who choose to self-direct their services with budget authority to identify a circle of support as well as to create and manage a self-direction budget.idgs - individual directed goods and servicesprovides equipment or supplies not otherwise provided through opwdd's hcbs waiver or through the medicaid state plan.idgs allows for an individual and developmental disability to engage in a variety of activities from camp to community classes, as well allowing an individual to maintain their independence by decreasing their need for traditional medicaid services and or increasing their safety in their home environment.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 98% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 56
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.1%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 88.4%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 10th 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: 71.4%; rating input score 71; 12th 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: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.88; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.63; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.8%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.8% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16.3% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.9% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.1% of revenue deployed · 88.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 7 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $17.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $221K · 5 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.6M reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 32/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 21/100.