United Community Action Partnership

What it reported doing in 2024

The weatherization program is a grant program that provides services to assist income-eligible households with energy repairs to make them more efficient. Services include diagnostic testing, furnace repair and replacement, water heater repairs, and insulation. In 2025, we were able to serve 162 household units with weatherization and 61 households with standalone repairs. The energy assistance program provides home heating assistance, emergency assistance, and repair of old and unsafe heating systems to qualifying households. In 2025, we provided energy grants to 4723 households. Ucap also provided 189 households with the energy and emergency repair program and assisted 1176 households with the crisis program. We also completed 57 in-home outreach projects. The small cities development program provides financial assistance for low to moderate-income individuals who are residing in substandard housing. This program encourages the improvement of the general appearance and value of the housing stock while making a visible and substantial improvement in the quality of life and appearance of the community. This program offers grant funds for owner-occupied, commercial, and rental property owners. This program can provide upgrades to properties, helping them to meet code requirements. During the 2025 program year, we had 5 open small cities grants in different communities across our service area. We completed 32 owner-occupied, 0 rental, and 8 commercial projects within the program. The murl program offers homeownership to "at risk" households at a 0% interest, no down payment, and a contract for deed. This program is aimed at first-time homebuyers with certain exemptions. With funding provided by the mn housing finance agency, homes were purchased to be rehabilitated and sold to qualifying buyers. We currently have 17 murl homes, 15 of which are currently occupied, with 2 vacant. Mn housing finance agency also offers loan programs for low-income single-family homeowners in need of improvements that directly affect the safety, livability, or energy efficiency of the home. The rehabilitation loan program (rlp) is a residential, deferred, 0% interest loan up to $37,500. Minnesota housing also created the emergency and accessibility loan program (elp) to finance repairs resulting from situations or conditions that could cause or have caused a home to become uninhabitable, which offers a deferred, 0% interest loan for low-income households in an emergency up to $27,000. In 2025, we completed 20 rlp loans and 14 elp loans. United community action's housing development program has built 5 single-family homes and sold 5 single-family homes. We have 1 home for sale in our service area.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 78.2%; rating input score 78
• Program expense ratio: 93.3%; rating input score 93
• Fundraising efficiency: $9,508.16 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • 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: 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 14.7%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.82; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.27; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 3%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 14.4% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 14.1% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 17.2% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings