2018-06-19T09:22:32-05:00 2017-12-31 BKD LLP 1201 Walnut Suite 1700 Kansas City MO 641062246 990 2017-01-01 431243999 UNBOUND % SCOTT WASSERMAN-PRESIDENT/CE UNBO 8008756564 1 ELMWOOD AVE KANSAS CITY KS 66103 SCOTT WASSERMAN PRESIDENT/CEO 8008756564 2018-11-15 true Michael J Engle P00482834 8162216300 2018-11-15 2017 2022-09-23 18:48:47Z SCOTT WASSERMAN 1 ELMWOOD AVE KANSAS CITY KS 66103 140766355 false X WWW.UNBOUND.ORG X 1981 MO UNBOUND'S MISSION IS TO WALK WITH THE POOR AND MARGINALIZED OF THE WORLD. 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OFFICER/DIRECTOR 6.0 0.0 X X 0 0 0 ALISON AVAYU DIRECTOR 4.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 ANNE RYDER DIRECTOR (RETIRED 6/17) 4.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 DAVID HERBISON DEPUTY CGO/DIRECTOR 5.0 0.0 X X 0 0 0 EILEEN GREENLAY DIRECTOR (RETIRED 6/17) 4.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 RICH SWAN DIRECTOR 4.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 VICKI BERGER DIRECTOR 4.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 REV MICHAEL RIEDER PREACHER REP. (NON-VOTING) 2.0 0.0 X 4810 0 0 YESSENIA ALFARO DIRECTOR (NON-VOTING) 1.5 0.0 X 0 0 0 DENNIS BERNARDO DIRECTOR (BEGAN 6/17) 4.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 EMMA HIGGINS DIRECTOR (BEGAN 6/17) 4.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 PETER NDUNGO DIRECTOR (NON-VOTING) 1.5 0.0 X 0 0 0 SCOTT WASSERMAN PRESIDENT/CEO (NON-VOTING) 55.0 0.0 X 213607 0 45660 MARTIN KRAUS TREASURER (NON-VOTING)/DIR FIN 50.0 0.0 X 100457 0 28833 WILLIAM HANSEN SECRETARY (NON-VOTING)/FIN MGR 45.0 0.0 X 76153 0 14630 ROB MCELROY LEAD .NET DEVELOPER 45.0 0.0 X 115500 0 37899 DONNA HATCHETTE SR. SYSTEMS ANALYST 45.0 0.0 X 103108 0 7659 MARY GEISZ DIRECTOR OF SPONSOR EXPERIENCE 45.0 0.0 X 102043 0 17039 JOHN DOUGHERTY DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY SERVICE 45.0 0.0 X 100868 0 16263 816546 0 167983 6 false true false TF-MOBANK PO BOX 443 TULSA OK 74101 MERCHANT SERVICES 811918 MOBANK 7500 COLLEGE BLVD SUITE 1450 OVERLAND PARK KS 66210 BANKING SERVICES 295573 GOOGLE INC 1600 AMPHITHEATRE PKWY MOUNTAIN VIEW CA 94043 ADVERTISING 445009 ARADIUS GROUP 4700 F STREET OMAHA NE 68117 PRINTING SERVICES 166095 AMERICAN EXPRESS 200 VESEY STREET NEW YORK NY 10285 MERCHANT SERVICES 133221 7 133688878 111086 133688878 Awareness Trips 900099 451135 451135 451135 901259 901259 0 0 12000 12000 0 12000 12000 5712090 5700919 11171 11171 11171 0 0 0 0 0 0 888 641 247 247 MISCELLANEOUS OTHER REVENUE 900099 105 105 105 105 105 135064795 451135 924782 0 0 108359028 108359028 0 484150 54302 406937 22911 133190 8519 124671 8475154 5308045 1113116 2053993 500573 313657 66230 120686 1713338 1121198 218764 373376 654776 393640 101774 159362 0 11988 825 11163 83163 83163 0 0 51046 51046 645928 26262 85151 534515 578995 173 8678 570144 3720006 1405606 1968780 345620 250304 141991 40204 68109 0 260870 177861 41008 42001 585101 231849 32941 320311 0 50966 7057 3152 40757 1223 1223 0 485778 331770 77004 77004 143245 89675 21612 31958 AWARENESS & EDUCATION 596450 544802 3615 48033 FIELD AUDITS 147240 147240 BOARD EXPENSES 88166 88166 MISCELLANEOUS 75213 13619 38413 23181 128095891 118678342 4460917 4956632 X 332 450 11945059 11927476 0 0 351784 425210 0 0 0 0 0 0 15124 0 901011 794608 9646596 6136499 3931275 3510097 28601122 37150795 0 0 0 0 0 0 118573 125214 45864280 53933850 1157441 1223048 0 0 145703 193305 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 480850 461733 1783994 1878086 X 14778421 20281552 29301865 31774212 0 0 44080286 52055764 45864280 53933850 X 6968904 1001201 5373 X false true X true false X 119446440 118868181 122382864 127382454 133688878 621768817 0 0 119446440 118868181 122382864 127382454 133688878 621768817 0 621768817 1428200 913403 770848 759620 913259 4785330 0 1478 1498 90 557 105 3728 626557875 2123269 0.99236 0.99091 X 273053 273053 4773197 2044674 2728523 1844723 1611792 232931 2755623 2480033 275590 3510097 0 ANNUITY OBLIGATIONS 461733 461733 136020035 1001201 1001201 135018834 51046 -5085 45961 135064795 128041363 128041363 51046 3482 54528 128095891 SCHEDULE D, PART X, LINE 2 MANAGEMENT HAS EVALUATED THEIR INCOME TAX POSITIONS UNDER THE GUIDANCE INCLUDED IN ASC 740. BASED ON THEIR REVIEW, MANAGEMENT HAS NOT IDENTIFIED ANY MATERIAL UNCERTAIN TAX POSITIONS TO BE RECORDED OR DISCLOSED IN THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. SCHEDULE D, PART XI, LINE 4B CHANGE IN UNINSURED ANNUITY OBLIGATIONS $ (5,373) UNBOUND COLOMBIA $ 288 ---------- TOTAL $ (5,085) SCHEDULE D, PART XII, LINE 4B UNBOUND COLOMBIA $ 3,482 true CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN GRANTMAKING 46522928 CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 1 PROGRAM SERVICES PROJ MENTOR & MONITOR 266194 CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 1 PROGRAM SERVICES REGIONAL CENTER 1044279 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC GRANTMAKING 16452237 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC PROGRAM SERVICES PROJ MENTOR & MONITOR 53646 NORTH AMERICA GRANTMAKING 4409689 NORTH AMERICA PROGRAM SERVICES PROJ MENTOR & MONITOR 14443 SOUTH AMERICA GRANTMAKING 16744282 SOUTH AMERICA PROGRAM SERVICES PROJ MENTOR & MONITOR 52824 SOUTH ASIA GRANTMAKING 10568388 SOUTH ASIA PROGRAM SERVICES PROJ MENTOR & MONITOR 36879 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA GRANTMAKING 13661504 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA PROGRAM SERVICES PROJ MENTOR & MONITOR 45190 1 1 1 1 109872483 109872483 Central America and the Caribbean SEE PART V 1672604 EFT/WIRE East Asia and the Pacific SEE PART V 753116 EFT/WIRE North America SEE PART V 213237 EFT/WIRE South America SEE PART V 594006 EFT/WIRE South Asia SEE PART V 135210 EFT/WIRE Sub-Saharan Africa SEE PART V 638941 EFT/WIRE 39 NUTRITION, EDUCATION, HEALTH, & FAMILY Central America and the Caribbean 131948 44850324 EFT/WIRE NUTRITION, EDUCATION, HEALTH, & FAMILY East Asia and the Pacific 47076 15699121 EFT/WIRE NUTRITION, EDUCATION, HEALTH, & FAMILY North America 12674 4196452 EFT/WIRE NUTRITION, EDUCATION, HEALTH, & FAMILY South America 46354 16150276 EFT/WIRE NUTRITION, EDUCATION, HEALTH, & FAMILY South Asia 32362 10433178 EFT/WIRE NUTRITION, EDUCATION, HEALTH, & FAMILY Sub-Saharan Africa 39655 13022563 EFT/WIRE false false false false false false SCHEDULE F, PART 1, LINE 2 Unbound sends a wire transfer to projects on a monthly basis. The monthly transfer includes the projects allocation of sponsorship funds in three categories: children, aging and vocations (where applicable). The monthly transfer also includes birthday funds. Money is sent at the appropriate times for service-scholarships and Christmas. There might be additional restricted funds sent as unbound grants or because of sponsors extra donations for specific family or project needs beyond what the sponsorship program covers. Unbound monitors the projects use of these funds in a variety of ways. Projects are required to provide monthly financial information to Unbounds office in Kansas City, Kansas, including: A. transaction-level financial detail which include the balance sheet and income statement B. project bank statements and bank reconciliations C. cash reserves report The projects are also required to submit or make available the following documents on an annual basis: a. annual budget b. asset listing c. government-required external audit d. any other financial reports filed with their governments For special money gifts over $100, projects are required to acknowledge the expenditures to the donors. There are five regional accountants in the international programs department at unbound. Each has responsibility for a number of projects, and reviews the monthly transactions and reports on a regular basis for timeliness, accuracy, completeness, and compliance with unbound financial and program policy. Regular feedback is given to the projects. Staff representatives from the unbound headquarters office visit each project at least once per year to assess program and administrative performance, visit program beneficiaries in their homes, and provide support and training to project teams. Formal performance audits are performed periodically, typically once every three years. In addition, the unbound finance department has a team of financial auditors who regularly audit the projects internal controls, processes and procedures, and the accuracy of their recordkeeping. They have established a schedule for auditing each project on a regular basis. There are other processes, too, through which unbound is able to monitor the project performance and adherence to unbound policies. Unbound requires an updated annual photo of each sponsored member, and has processes to assure the authenticity of every photo. Unbound requires each sponsored member to write to his or her sponsor at least twice each year. The letters are regularly reviewed on a sample basis before being sent to sponsors. Sponsors eagerly anticipate letters from their sponsored friends. Unbound organizes group trips called awareness trips and facilitates individual sponsor visits to a number of the projects each year. Unbound encourages all sponsors to visit their sponsored friends and view firsthand the work of the projects. In 2017, 885 sponsored children and elderly were visited. SCHEDULE F, PART II, LINES 1(1)-(6), COLUMN D PURPOSE OF GRANTS FOR ALL REGIONS IS PROJECT INFRASTRUCTURE, EMERGENCY & SCHOLARSHIP ASSISTANCE. X true true X X X X false false false false false false false false false SCOTT WASSERMAN PRESIDENT/CEO (NON-VOTING) 212832 0 0 0 775 0 13125 0 32535 0 259267 0 0 0 ROB MCELROY LEAD .NET DEVELOPER 115230 0 0 0 270 0 7351 0 30548 0 153399 0 0 0 SCHEDULE J, PART I, LINE 1A IN 2017, ANABELLA WASSERMAN, WIFE OF SCOTT WASSERMAN, PRESIDENT/CEO OF UNBOUND, TRAVELED INTERNATIONALLY WITH MR. WASSERMAN AND OTHER UNBOUND STAFF TO PARTICIPATE IN PROJECT MENTORING/MONITORING AND SPONSOR AWARENESS TRIPS TO VARIOUS UNBOUND PROJECTS. UNBOUND COMPENSATED MS. WASSERMAN FOR HER TIME AS AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR AND PAID FOR HER AIRFARE BECAUSE HER PARTICIPATION WAS FOR BONA FIDE BUSINESS PURPOSES. MS. WASSERMAN'S LONG STANDING RELATIONSHIP WITH UNBOUND, PREVIOUS INVOLVEMENT LEADING SEVERAL CHURCH MISSION TRIPS, BEING A NATIVE OF GUATEMALA AND BEING BI-LINGUAL ARE JUST A FEW OF THE MANY ATTRIBUTES THAT ENABLE HER TO WORK SUCCESSFULLY AND TO HELP UNBOUND BUILD MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS WITH PROJECT STAFF, AWARENESS TRIP PARTICIPANTS AND SPONSORED FAMILIES. X 43 111086 FAIR MARKET VALUE false true false SCHEDULE M, PART I, COLUMN B THE AMOUNTS LISTED IN COLUMN B REPRESENTS THE NUMBER OF CONTRIBUTIONS. FORM 990, PART I, LINE 1 Unbounds mission is to walk with the poor and marginalized of the world. 1. We provide personal attention and direct benefits to children, youth, aging and their families so they may live with dignity, achieve their desired potential and participate fully in society. 2. We invite people of goodwill to live in daily solidarity with the worlds poor through one-to-one sponsorship. 3. We build community by fostering relationships of mutual respect, understanding and support that are culturally diverse, empowering and without religious or other prejudice. Grounded in the Gospel call to serve the poor, Unbound is a lay Catholic organization working with persons of all faith traditions to create a worldwide community of compassion and service. FORM 990, PART III, LINE 4A Total grants for the sponsorship program were $105.2 million in 2017. At the end of 2017, a total of 310,069 individuals in Latin America, Asia and Africa were sponsored through Unbound. They included 279,205 children and youth, 30,593 elders and 271 candidates studying for religious vocations. Following are examples of achievements in the sponsorship program, as sponsored individuals and their families partnered with Unbound to identify the unique challenges they must overcome, set their own goals and devise plans to achieve them. Unbounds sponsorship program connects children, youth, elders and their families with individual sponsors and supportive local communities of staff members and other families. Through sponsorship, individuals and families have resources and a solid support network to begin to chart their own course out of poverty. In 2017, Unbound had programs in 20 countries, including Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, the Philippines, Tanzania, Uganda and Venezuela. Unbound closed its offices in Brazil and Venezuela during 2017. Sponsors - through their monthly financial contributions and letters they receive from their sponsored friends - experience a sense of connection with someone in another part of the world and satisfaction knowing they are helping another human being reach their full potential. Sponsors also have the opportunity to write to their sponsored friends to offer their encouragement and build rewarding relationships. Unbound had 261,066 sponsors from the U.S. and around the world at the end of 2017. Sponsored individuals and their families partner with Unbound to make program and benefit decisions that help them meet their basic needs and develop their potential over the course of their time in the program, which is sometimes 18 years or more. Sponsored individuals and their families use financial assistance to help meet needs such as education, nutrition, housing improvements, transportation and health care. They also have access to leadership and economic development opportunities related to financial literacy, skill development and income generation. Sponsorship requires active participation from families as the assistance is highly personalized. Families take a central role in deciding sponsorship benefits, and in forming support networks in which they encourage and are accountable to each other. Small support groups of parents and guardians, mostly made up of mothers, are key in the sponsorship programs success. Outcomes vary but typically relate to education, leadership development, improved health and nutrition status, dignified housing, skill development and increased income through livelihood opportunities for families. Monitoring program success Monitoring and evaluation of programs Unbound is committed to learning from our work and ensuring that the work makes a positive impact in the lives of children, youth, elders and families around the world. The organization asks two basic questions to earn donor trust and be at our best for those we work with: 1. Did we do what we said we were going to do? This is program monitoring. 2. Did it make a difference? This is program evaluation. Unbound distinguishes between monitoring and evaluation and maintains separate but complementary strategies. Monitoring: The principal purpose of monitoring is accountability. Regular program monitoring is conducted to ensure fidelity in the organizational structure, development of programs, implementation of policies and the appropriate use of finances. Some of this monitoring happens across distance with regular reporting, emails and phone calls. Much of it happens with personal, on-site visits from Unbound's Kansas City headquarters staff. Unbounds monitoring strategy includes: 1. Project visits made annually to each project for staff development, program support and assessments 2. Financial audits conducted in each project 3. Program audits conducted in each project 4. Awareness trips and individual sponsor visit opportunities Evaluation: Learning is the focus of program evaluation. Unbounds personalized approach to sponsorship requires a unique and creative approach to evaluation. The organization has developed a three-tier system to evaluate the outcomes of the Unbound sponsorship program to address the learning and decision-making needs at all levels: individual, project/program and global. Individual outcomes: Letters from sponsored individuals to their sponsors provide direct feedback about how the relationships and support make a difference. Sponsored children and youth, for example, often write about how they are progressing in school or how the benefits of the program impact them and their families. Program outcomes: Programs at the project level are tailored to the needs of sponsored individuals and their families and the initiatives of Unbound in their communities. Families work with program staff to define and measure outcomes and utilize the results for continuous program improvement. With training and technical support from the evaluation team, these locally directed evaluations ask questions like: What is the program accomplishing? How are families different now? What could we do better? Global outcomes: As an international organization, Unbound also recognizes the need to step back periodically and look at the big picture. Global evaluations explore questions of organizational outcomes for all program participants across borders and in every region. These broad assessments help us tell our collective story and understand the effectiveness of our approach in key areas such as educational attainment, economic self-sufficiency, empowerment of mothers and community participation. Each tier of our evaluation framework is important to understanding the whole of Unbounds impact and its complex contribution to individual goals around the world. Governing board's role in monitoring outcomes On behalf of sponsored individuals, their families and sponsors, the governing board of Unbound rigorously monitors the integrity and accountability of the organization's operations. The board proactively defines the outcomes expected from the organization. Management must then produce verifiable data proving progress toward the expected outcomes. Management chooses the means to achieve the boards ends. However, the board sets ethical and prudent limits on which means management may use to achieve the boards ends. The board systematically monitors compliance with these executive limitations. As a result, the board confidently assures donors that their contributions achieve their promised objectives, and that the organization remains transparent and ethical. Monitoring activities and evaluation methods Unbound conducts financial and program audits of projects on a regular basis to ensure financial resources provide intended benefits and services and sponsored members are empowered to direct their own development. In addition, almost all projects receive at least one visit by headquarters staff every year. Staff members also accompany sponsors on Unbound awareness trips visiting projects and families in the Unbound program. In 2017, headquarters staff spent more than 1,247 total days in the field monitoring and supporting programs. In addition, the organization performs quality checks on letters and photos from sponsored friends to their sponsors, and monitors member retirement rates and sponsor retention rates. Unbound collects educational attendance and performance data and documents the final education level achieved by sponsored members leaving the program. Unbound projects around the world conduct evaluations in their local contexts to determine outcomes for sponsored members and their families. Methods include surveys of sponsored members on income and skill development, focus groups on attitudes and behavioral changes, and interviews to document empowerment. Organization-wide program evaluations focus on four key domains: education, economic status, community participation and empowerment. Empowerment refers to ones ability to make decisions for oneself and act freely in a way that is intentional and goal-oriented. EXAMPLES OF PROGRAM SUCCESS Sponsorship helps children achieve a level of education that prepares them to compete with peers for jobs and be educated community members, parents and leaders. At a global level, at the point of leaving the program, 75 percent of sponsored children achieved a level of schooling comparative to or above national peer averages, according to data gathered from 2011-2014. This means that Unbound students - who experience marginalization based on economic, social and geographic factors - were able to compete and excel alongside students from all socioeconomic brackets and areas within their countries. Of these former sponsored children, 51 percent achieved educational levels a year or more above their national peer averages. The number jumped to 59 percent achieving a year or more above their national peer averages when looking at the experience of sponsored girls. This, along with country-level analysis, indicated a specific impact on girls education and a closing or reversing of the prominent gender gap present in many communities. In Guatemala, for example, sponsored children, on average, achieved almost three years of schooling more than the national average for their peers. And in Unbound's Quezon program in the Philippines, 57 percent of sponsored youth pursued post-secondary education compared to 30 percent of their peers. Sponsorship impacts the sponsored child and the entire family. Unbounds direct work through a personalized benefit model and parent groups means families are able to best allocate resources for their children and direct how the program supports their development as families. As of September 2014, 77 percent of all Unbound sponsored members participated in the program through small groups. These groups provide the space for families to have a voice in the program and be part of a supportive community, addressing two significant components of poverty: lack of choices and isolation. In 2017, an evaluation measuring the empowerment of mothers of sponsored children was performed. It compared those mothers to mothers who are waiting for their children to be sponsored. The evaluation found that parents of children sponsored through Unbound displayed a stronger level of ownership of psychological assets - such as happiness, control, goal setting and self-esteem - than the wait-list parents did. Unbound mothers were members in community groups, organizations, networks or associations as well. Mothers and guardians in Unbound reported feeling they are having a greater impact on their community. Thirty percent of Unbound mothers said they were involved in making decisions within their communities compared to 16 percent of mothers in the comparison group. Evaluation results showed how more women in Unbound are taking economic risks starting small businesses to enact change. More women in the Unbound program have their own businesses, and fewer women in the program are unemployed than mothers in comparison group. More mothers in Unbound also reported having complete choice in deciding or changing their occupations. Unbound in 2013 conducted a global evaluation of participation and empowerment indicators across all regions where Unbound works. A random sample of 697 participants revealed that three-fourths of all parents actively decide what their children will receive as benefits, and more than 40 percent were creating personal budgets and contributing regularly to savings accounts to build financial resiliency. In addition, 90 percent of mothers of sponsored children said they believed they have the power to change their familys situation, while 70 percent reported speaking up about their ideas and opinions and 63 percent were active in solving problems in their communities, according to data acquired in 2013. Unbound is now in the fourth year of a six-year longitudinal data collection on economic outcomes for sponsored members and their families. The evaluation includes both quantitative and qualitative data and follows families from the time they begin the program. In the communities served by Unbound, elders face challenges related to health, access to care and medicine, and loneliness. Unbound seeks to overcome these challenges through monthly benefits such as food assistance, help with health and medical expenses, home visits and group activities. An evaluation is being conducted that will measure Unbounds impact with elders in relation to overcoming these challenges. This evaluation will be completed in July 2018. The results of this evaluation will aid in our understanding of the effectiveness of the Unbound programs global impact with elders and help us make decisions to improve how the program serves elders globally. Finally, various project (community) level evaluations are ongoing and led by program staff in each country. The primary purpose of evaluations at the project level is to ensure continuous program improvements and adaptations to the ever-changing world around the program. For example, an evaluation conducted in Cali, Colombia, in 2017 has led to new activities to link goal setting with benefit selection. An evaluation in Santa Ana, El Salvador, in 2016 led to an increased focus on the empowerment of mothers participating in small groups to increase their self-perception as leaders. A 2016 evaluation in Quezon, Philippines, was conducted to learn the value of a nutritional program so that the project could gradually phase out the food assistance aspect of their program in favor of other benefits, without negatively impacting families. A 2016 evaluation in Kampala, Uganda, found that 70 percent of members of small groups participated in saving within their group. Sixty-eight percent of the evaluation respondents stated their motivation for saving was to secure their finances for the future. Feedback from sponsors Unbound recognizes sponsors and other benefactors not merely as donors but, first and foremost, as highly valued and respected members of the Unbound community. Both sponsors and sponsored persons have something to gain from the sponsorship relationship, and toward that end Unbound is committed to helping sponsors become more aware of the realities of global poverty and grow in human solidarity. The staff at Unbound take exceptional care in communications with sponsors, whether dealing with routine account matters or in the production of publications and web content. The goal is for sponsors to be well informed about what happens in programs so they understand how their contributions are being used and become more invested in the lives of those they help. In October through December of 2017, Unbound conducted a survey to determine what sponsors value about the sponsorship relationship and where communication fits into it. Respondents were asked about ways they engage with Unbound. Among the findings were: 1. Eighty-five percent of respondents reported they read printed material they receive in the mail from Unbound (including publications and information included with payment receipts). 2. Fifty-two percent reported that they read emails from Unbound. 3. Twenty-five percent of survey respondents reported they visit the Unbound website. 4. Of those who reported visiting the website, a large majority, 85 percent, stated the reason they visit is to send eLetters to their sponsored friends. Secondary reasons were to make payments or learn more about Unbound. 5. Fourteen percent of sponsors taking the survey reported that they call Unbound. 6. Nine percent of survey respondents reported they have hosted or volunteered at an event promoting Unbound. 7. Five percent of respondents reported they read Unbound's blog or social media updates. Perhaps the most significant indicator of a quality sponsor experience is that Unbound maintains a high sponsor retention rate. Unbound ended 2017 with a retention rate of 92.2 percent. Another indicator of a quality sponsor experience is the number of people, 30,905 in 2017, who sponsor more than one child or elderly person through the organization. Sponsors who travel on Unbound awareness trips have a unique opportunity to deepen their experience by meeting their sponsored friends, learning about their sponsored friends lives and cultures, and seeing firsthand the change individuals and families are creating with their support. In 2017, 612 people participated in 33 awareness trips in 13 countries. FORM 990, PART III, LINE 4B Following are examples of achievements in education as Unbound works with students in our service-scholarship program. Educational support provided by Unbound's service- scholarship program helps talented older students who, because of economic circumstances, are struggling to continue their educations. The program is based on the principles of perseverance, leadership and service to the community. The service-scholarship program complements the educational support provided by the Unbound sponsorship program, with 58 percent of scholarship students also sponsored. Unbound scholarships have helped students in communities around the world achieve their educational goals. Students are able to complete their educations, follow their chosen career paths and be of service to the larger community. Scholarships are used for needs such as secondary, post-secondary and vocational school tuition; transportation; school supplies and books. Students are selected by local program staffs based on economic need, commitment to completing their educations, demonstrated leadership potential and interest in community service. Scholarship students participate in service projects as a requirement of the program. Scholarships are intended as supplemental assistance, and students and their families contribute what they can toward educational costs. In 2017, scholarship grants to Unbound field offices totaled more than $3.1 million. Scholarships were awarded to 10,472 students in Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, the Philippines, Tanzania, Uganda and Venezuela (Unbound closed its office in Venezuela in 2017). Many scholars are sponsored youth who need extra financial help in addition to sponsorship support to complete their educations. Non-sponsored older students identified by local Unbound staffs as being in need of educational assistance and having a desire to serve their communities are also eligible for scholarships and represent 42 percent of the scholarships awarded. The service requirement is an important component of the program. Service may include tutoring, helping children in the sponsorship program write letters to their sponsors in the U.S., translating letters or performing work related to their fields of study. A number of former scholars work for Unbound as staff members after they graduate. They bring to their work a wealth of knowledge and a unique perspective on the program and their communities. Monitoring program success Scholars are required to maintain good grades in addition to fulfilling service requirements. Local Unbound staffs monitor students to make sure they are meeting program requirements, and they provide annual reports on the service-scholarship programs. Unbound has also initiated qualitative evaluation with alumni of the service-scholarship program, utilizing a group mind-mapping process and individual interviews to explore long-term outcomes. Examples of program success Unbound conducted Ripple-Effect Mapping (REM) in 2015 with 32 program alumni from rural communities in Guatemala and in 2013 with more than 80 program alumni in the Metro Manila area of the Philippines. REM is a participatory and qualitative evaluation method used to learn the intended and unintended results of the program. While the contexts of groups were dramatically different, with different geographies and significant cultural differences, the similarities between the outcomes strengthen the argument for what might be Unbound's contribution through the service-scholarship and sponsorship programs. Alumni participating in the qualitative evaluation in the Philippines, on average three years out of the program, were pursuing careers from teaching to nursing and accounting to architectural design. Alumni participating in the evaluation in Guatemala, on average six years out of the program, mentioned employment as teachers, police officers, bakers and small-business owners. Most of the evaluation participants were employed on a full-time basis. Among the key findings were: 1. Gratitude and giving back: The feeling of gratitude and the action of giving back were both connected and common across the ripple maps in Guatemala and the Philippines. Participants expressed how individuals and communities in poverty can focus internally on what little they have, but through Unbound they began to see the strengths and assets they did have. This gratitude for what they had and for what was shared through Unbound spurred a desire to help others, whether family, friends or strangers. 2. Pride: A deep sense of pride and personal accomplishment came forward in the maps of both countries. It is a pride that comes from educational accomplishments and the ability to sustain ones family. However, it also comes from being part of, or associated with, the Unbound program itself (Philippines) or having a sponsor (Guatemala). 3. Education: Education and academic achievement show up in all ripple-effect maps created in Guatemala and the Philippines; however, their positioning and value differ between both countries. Guatemalans viewed education as a key outcome and means to their most significant outcomes. Attaining an education meant gaining access to professional employment and caring for their families. It brought about satisfaction and pride. In the Philippines, however, alumni emphasized education as an end in itself. Having an education was the outcome. The most significant, long-term outcomes of the Unbound program were overwhelmingly real and intangible. Housing and health, education and work were all present in the lives of Unbound alumni, yet the core of the impact remaining for formerly sponsored members lies in the moral, character-centered, reflective and goal-oriented worldview that they carry with them. This intangible core appears to offer a foundation for the alumni to continue to build their own tangible ripples in providing for their families and assisting community members. One benefit of the ripple-effect-mapping method, over separate evaluations of each outcome domain, is that we can see far more clearly that there are links between the physical and psycho-social-spiritual development. This makes an excellent case for the personalized attention, program activities and relationships that complement tangible sponsorship benefits. These components can also be called benefits. "The beauty is that each family can choose what is needed in each moment," said one participant in Guatemala. Each individual tells a vastly different story, but all are united in their experience with Unbound. So, while these experiences do force us to recognize the significant influences of external factors in the lives of individuals, they also emphasize the remarkable flexibility of the Unbound program. It has the potential to contribute to an individual's path out of poverty in ways unlike a standard aid-distribution or community-based development approach. Finally, various project (community) level evaluations are ongoing and led by program staff in each country. The primary purpose of evaluations at the project level is to ensure continuous program improvements and adaptations to the ever-changing world around the program. For example, a 2017 evaluation in Meru, Kenya, found that scholars face challenges meeting service-learning requirements. The Unbound team in Meru is now working with scholars to find solutions to this problem. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 11B AN INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTING FIRM PREPARES THE 990. THE 990 IS THEN REVIEWED BY THE ORGANIZATION'S PRESIDENT/CEO AND ACCOUNTING PERSONNEL. ANY QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS THE ORGANIZATION'S PRESIDENT/CEO AND ACCOUNTING PERSONNEL HAVE ARE ADDRESSED AND ANY CORRECTIONS OR CLARIFICATIONS THAT NEED TO BE MADE ARE MADE. THE 990 IS THEN PROVIDED TO THE FULL BOARD FOR THEIR REVIEW. ANY QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS OF THE BOARD ARE ADDRESSED AND CORRECTIONS OR CLARIFICATIONS ARE MADE PRIOR TO FILING THE 990. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 12C ALL BOARD MEMBERS ANNUALLY DISCLOSE THEIR INVOLVEMENT WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, COMMUNITIES, EMPLOYMENT, STAFF, VENDORS OR ANY OTHER ASSOCIATIONS THAT MIGHT POTENTIALLY PRODUCE A CONFLICT, REGARDLESS OF THE LIKELIHOOD OF AN ACTUAL CONFLICT ARISING. NEW BOARD NOMINEES ALSO COMPLETE A DISCLOSURE FORM. WHEN THE BOARD IS TO DECIDE AN ISSUE THAT PRESENTS AN UNAVOIDABLE CONFLICT OF INTEREST FOR A MEMBER, THE MEMBER WITH THE CONFLICT ABSTAINS FROM PARTICIPATION IN BOTH THE DELIBERATION AND VOTE. ALL EMPLOYEES ANNUALLY SIGN A RECEIPT AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF UNBOUND'S CODE OF CONDUCT WHICH FORBIDS A CONFLICT OR THE APPEARANCE OF A CONFLICT BETWEEN THE EMPLOYEE'S PERSONAL INTERESTS AND THOSE OF UNBOUND. THE EMPLOYEE'S SIGNATURE ACKNOWLEDGES THEIR AGREEMENT TO ADHERE TO THIS CODE AND TO IMMEDIATELY DISCLOSE A SUSPECTED CONFLICT OF INTEREST TO A STAFF DIRECTOR, MEMBER OF THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT OR CONFIDENTIALLY THROUGH UNBOUND'S INDEPENDENT REPORTING SERVICE. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINES 15A & 15B THE COMPENSATION OF THE PRESIDENT/CEO FOR JUNE 2017-JUNE 2018 WAS DETERMINED AT THE JUNE 2017 GOVERNING BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING. PRIOR TO THIS DISCUSSION, THE PRESIDENT/CEO AND THE NON-VOTING MEMBERS OF THE BOARD EXCUSED THEMSELVES FROM THE BOARD MEETING. THE VOTING MEMBERS MET WITH THE DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES AND THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE WHO PROVIDED THEM WITH THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WHICH THEY USED TO DETERMINE THE COMPENSATION AMOUNT: UTILIZING THE SERVICES OF AN INDEPENDENT COMPENSATION CONSULTANT GROUP, UNBOUND BUILT A FORMAL COMPENSATION SYSTEM FOR THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION. THE BOARD CONSIDERED OTHER FACTORS SUCH AS COMPARISON OF COMPENSATION OF EXECUTIVES FROM SIMILAR SPONSORSHIP ORGANIZATIONS AND A FORMAL EVALUATION OF JOB PERFORMANCE TO DETERMINE THE PRESIDENT/CEO'S JUNE 2017-JUNE 2018 COMPENSATION. THE VOTING MEMBERS THEN APPROVED THE ANNUAL SALARY FOR THE PRESIDENT/CEO. SUBSTANTIATION OF THE DECISION OF THE BOARD'S DETERMINATION WAS MAINTAINED BY THE DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES. THE COMPENSATION OF THE OTHER OFFICERS (TREASURER AND SECRETARY) WAS APPROVED BY THEIR RESPECTIVE SUPERVISOR AT UNBOUND. IT WAS BASED ON BOTH A WRITTEN JOB PERFORMANCE EVALUATION AND A FORMAL COMPENSATION SYSTEM BUILT FOR THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION UTILIZING THE SERVICES OF AN INDEPENDENT COMPENSATION CONSULTANT GROUP. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION C, LINE 19 UNBOUND'S ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION, AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, BY-LAWS AND CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY ALONG WITH IRS FORMS 1023, 990 AND 990-T ARE AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION AT OUR OFFICES. UNBOUND'S AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND IRS FORMS 990 AND 990-T ARE POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE (WWW.UNBOUND.ORG). PRINTED COPIES ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. FORM 990, PART XI, LINE 9 CHANGE IN UNINSURED ANNUITY OBLIGATIONS $5,373 UNBOUND COLOMBIA CALLE 50 NO 65-42 CENTRO CONTEMPOR MEDELLIN ANTIOQUIA CO 901091198 PRJT SUPPORT CO 501(C)(3) UNBOUND true false true false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false