Voices Unbroken Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
753077676
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2018
Forms available
Form 990 2018, Form 990-EZ 2011
Location
Bronx, NY, USA
Phone
7186842125
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Student Services, Organizations of Students

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$87,906
Expenses
$138,834
Assets
$48,460
Liabilities
$10,454

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2018. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DALINEZ MARTINEZ (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARIA PEREZ (Executive Dir.): $37,692 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2018. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Voices unbroken is dedicated to providing under-heard members of the community-primarily youth, ages 12-24-with the tools and opportunity for creative self-expression. Through high quality creative writing workshops in juvenile justice facilities, group homes, residential treatment facilities, jails, and various other alternative and transitional settings, voices unbroken nurtures the inherent need in all people to tell their stories and be heard. It is our belief that this telling of stories and sharing of dreams leads to individual and community growth.

What it reported doing in 2018

During the year 2018, Voices UnBroken completed 7 workshops cycles, with 5-10 sessions per cycle. Our work took place in 5 different facilities in New York City. The workshops were facilitated by 3 teaching artists, who provided high quality poetry writing sessions. We served youth who were in non-secure and secure placements in the Bronx. 100% of our participants were between the ages of 11 and 18. Most participants filled out surveys at the beginning (pre-survey) and at the end of the workshops cycles (post-surveys). In responses to these surveys, young people showed improvements in writing expression and confident speaking.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 49
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 60.1%; rating input score 60
  • Program expense ratio: 38%; rating input score 38
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.1 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -57.9%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.35; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.22; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 27.1%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -17.8% per year; rating input score 0; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -5.6% per year; rating input score 0; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -11.2% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 60.1% of revenue deployed · 38% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $53K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $38K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2010 to 2018
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 38/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 25/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 14/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 16/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.