Upland Advisors Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
834572806
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2019, Form 990-N 2022
Location
Schererville, IN, USA
Phone
2028102227
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Promotion of International Understanding

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,210,441
Expenses
$1,433,885
Assets
$2,284,199
Liabilities
$63,471

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JASON GELBORT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND SECRETARY)
  • RANDY BENJENK (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • JASON GELBORT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND SECRETARY): $189,103 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Upland advisors supports sustainable peacebuilding initiatives by providing trusted advice on strategy, policy, and law-related matters. We assist the peacemaking efforts of multi-ethnic stakeholders in burma/myanmar through advice, research, and education services. Upland advisors conducts related non-partisan advocacy on matters related to peace, conflict, and human rights.

What it reported doing in 2025

Training local leaders on negotiations and principles to a constitutional democracy - this program provided technical assistance and capacity building support through highly trusted education and advice on sensitive and challenging matters to key decision-makers across various organizations and communities. Two dozen advisors were resourced to engage with over 50 stakeholder organizations. The programs is designed to contribute to the sustainable, peaceful, and comprehensive resolution of burma/myanmar's ongoing pro-federal democracy revolution and 75-years-long civil wars.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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 - 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 the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 52
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 62.2%; rating input score 62
  • Program expense ratio: 95.8%; rating input score 96
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4,505.52 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 11th 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: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Pass
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 0%; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 35.1%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.59; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.2%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.5% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 19.2% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 22.9% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 62.2% of revenue deployed · 95.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 3 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $189K · 3 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $485K reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 30 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2023 to 2025
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.