Words Without Borders INC EIN 20-1017609

Words Without Borders INC

EIN  20-1017609 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Brooklyn, NY Founded 2003
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
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Size
$100K–1M
What they do
Translates and publishes contemporary world literature, actively promoting it to readers.
Leadership
Karen M Phillips · Executive Director (resigned - August 31, 2024) · $57K
Money in and out
$756K revenue, $764K expenses
Bottom line
66% program efficiency

Translates and publishes contemporary world literature, actively promoting it to readers. For fiscal year 2024 it reported $756K in revenue, $764K in expenses, and $359K in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2024
Total revenue
$756K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$764K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$359K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$8K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.66 Management & general $0.16 Fundraising $0.17
Program efficiency
66%
of spending reaches programs▼ -3% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
4.7mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▲ +34% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
-1%
revenue over expenses, this year▼ -126% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2024 · Form 990
Revenue
$756K
FY2024▼ -15%
Expenses
$764K
FY2024▼ -11%
Total assets
$405K
FY2024▲ +1%
Total liabilities
$46K
FY2024▲ +29%
Total revenue
$756K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$764K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$359K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$8K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$405K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B66%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 317
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 417
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

1 program service account for $507K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

See Schedule O.

$507Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CWords Without Borders INC
EINHdr · item D20-1017609
Principal addressHdr · item CBrooklyn, NY
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.wordswithoutborders.org
Year of formationHdr · item L2003
State of legal domicileHdr · item MNY
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFInternational (Q20)
Ruling yearIRS BMFJul 2009

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a17
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b17
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Director (resigned - August 31, 2024)
$56,588Pt VII · Sec A
Executive Director
$34,327Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Vice-Chair
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Karen M Phillips’s $57K as Executive Director (resigned - August 31, 2024) is at the 52nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 1637 $100K–1M international nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 2 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Karen M Phillips$56,588$90,200$85,715$82,287$87,111$73,848
Elisabeth Jaquette$34,327

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$733K · 97%
Program service revenue$21K · 3%
Contributions & grants97%$733K
Program service revenue3%$21K
Investment income$67
Other revenue$1K
— government grantsLn 1e$142K
Total revenueLn 12$756K

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.66 Management & general $0.16 Fundraising $0.17
Program services66%$507K
Management & general16%$124K
Fundraising17%$133K
Total functional expensesLn 25$764K

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$300K
Total assetsLn 16$405K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$46K
Total net assetsLn 32$359K
Months of cash on handcomputed4.7

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2024 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $300K · Operating expenses/yr $764K
4.7 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $507K · Total expenses $764K
66%
Management & General
Management & general $124K · Total expenses $764K
16%
Fundraising
Fundraising $133K · Total expenses $764K
17%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $114K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $638K
$0.18 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $733K · Total revenue $756K
97%
Government reliance
Government grants $142K · Total revenue $756K
19%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $21K · Total revenue $756K
3%
Investment reliance
Investment income $67 · Total revenue $756K
0%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $21K · Total expenses $764K
3%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $756K · Prior year $891K
-15%
Revenue CAGR
FY2019 $549K · FY2024 $756K
+7%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $359K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $756K · Expenses $764K
-1%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $405K
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $359K · Total assets $405K
89%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $405K
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Karen M Phillips · Reported title Executive Director (Resigned - August 31, 2024) · Highest reported compensation $57K · Total expenses $764K
7%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $537K · Total expenses $764K
70%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 66%
Overhead ratio 16%
Fundraising cost ratio 18%
Revenue growth -15%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$9K

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2024$891K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$702K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$512K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$575K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$549K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2024IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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