United Community Center

Legal name: United Community Center Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
391146191
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Milwaukee, WI, US
Phone
(414) 384-3100
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Ethnic, Immigrant Centers

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$53,312,720
Expenses
$51,522,191
Assets
$75,658,282
Liabilities
$13,468,512

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

Leadership & pay

36 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LAURA E GUTIERREZ (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • LAURA E GUTIERREZ (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $451,719 total reported compensation
  • LUKISCHA RAMOS (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $248,000 total reported compensation
  • TIMOTHY BALKE (CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER): $144,342 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

UCC's Mission is to transform the lives of Hispanics, families and individuals of all ages by providing the highest quality comprehensive services in education, human services, health, community development and cultural arts.

What it reported doing in 2024

Health and human services: ucc transforms lives through compassionate treatment and recovery services for individuals facing substance use disorders. Comprehensive residential programs provide 24-hour/365 days per year with personalized care - including counseling, medication-assisted treatment, and creative therapies-designed to nurture healing for men, women and families alike. Flexible outpatient and day treatment services offer dynamic group and individual counseling, life skills education, and mental health support to bolster each client's journey toward lasting recovery.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 82% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 51
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.1%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 90.1%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: $58.33 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th 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: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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; 77th 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: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3.4%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.47; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.6% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.9% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.4% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 9 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 88.1% of revenue deployed · 90.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 28 of 28 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $46.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $452K · 36 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.