Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
522288304
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2026009132
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Civil Rights, Social Action, Advocacy N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$136,424
Expenses
$152,900
Assets
$156,622
Liabilities
$7,653

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Pavel DeJesus (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Pavel DeJesus (Executive Director): $37,908 total reported compensation
  • Paulette DeMers (Administrative Assistant): $22,842 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To mobilize the voices of Unitarian Universalists across the U.S. To express policies and actions aligned with UU values through engagement education and advocacy.

What it reported doing in 2024

Our ultimate goal primary aim is to equip UU congregations and individuals to foster a just compassionate and sustainable global community. We strive to enhance UU visibility in public discussions of social justice and public policy asserting a moral clarity that aligns with our core UU principles and religious values. Our volunteers and staff continue to engage in meetings virtual and in-person to express UU perspectives on our priority issues to federal decision-makers and their staff. We have hosted webinars briefings and training sessions to enhance skills and raise awareness among our members supporters and friends. These events are accessible to the public UU congregations and our members. Our programs emphasize the interconnectedness of justice issues enhancing our capacity to connect the dots. Popular topics include non-partisan voter mobilization and themes related to our priority policy issues. We continue to strengthen ties with UU and non-UU groups collaborating on initiatives related to immigration social safety nets climate and healthy democracy. We continue operating under a covenant with the Coalition of UU State Action Networks to encourage collaboration and shared learning.

Operating model

Revenue model
Membership-supported. 88% of the money available for current operations came from membership dues.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 93% 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. The filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 53
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.1%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 81.2%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $18.73 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 81.8%; rating input score 82; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 0%; rating input score 0; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -12.1%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.02; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 39.7%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.6% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.1% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.8% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 91.1% of revenue deployed · 81.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $124K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $38K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 39 of 41 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 56/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 41/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 32/100.