Kula Project INC FY2021 filing

Tax-deductible

Lynchburg, VA501(c)(3)Since 2012EnvironmentEIN 45-5273875

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Kula exists to eradicate poverty through the development of entrepreneurs in Rwanda's coffee communities. We operate at the intersection of economic development, environmental sustainability, and gender equality, providing a poverty (continued on Schedule O) graduation model that joins regenerative agriculture support with entrepreneurial development and business coaching, empowering coffee farmers to increase their household income and move out of extreme poverty and into a life of prosperity, vision, agency, and hope.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
84¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$76K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2021 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
4 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $38K a year · 5% of revenue · last 6 filings
Fine: a surplus in 4 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
84%
of spending
Looks good: 84% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$76K
to officers and key staff · 10% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 10% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
6 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 5.6 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
2
named funders · $12K
Fine: 2 funders name it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$5K
1% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 1% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
5
of 5 voting members
Looks good: 5 of 5 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$916K
+18% vs prior year
Spent
$749K
To programs
84%
Net assets
$439K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$916K
FY2021▲ +18%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$776K
FY2021$916K
FY2022$900K
FY2023$623K
FY2024$1.0M
FY2025$703K
Expenses
$749K
FY2021▲ +16%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$644K
FY2021$749K
FY2022$829K
FY2023$768K
FY2024$874K
FY2025$828K
Net assets
$439K
FY2021▲ +61%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$273K
FY2021$439K
FY2022$547K
FY2023$404K
FY2024$553K
FY2025$435K

From the FY2021 Form 990 · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Dec 2013.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

84 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 84% · $629K Management & general 12% · $90K Fundraising 4% · $31K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

5 people listed on the 990; $76K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Director
$76,031Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Chair
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Nicholas Lauten’s $96K as Board Chair and Executive Director is at the 77th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1989 $100K–1M environment 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 · 4 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Nicholas Lauten$96,000—————
Nic Lauten—$92,250$89,714$67,410——
Sarah Buchanan-Sasson———$80,000——
Sarah Buchanan————$76,031$49,615

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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Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aNo

Programs and updates

Empowers Rwandan coffee farmers to end poverty through entrepreneurship.

Provided by the organization

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1 program service account for $629K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2021.
01

Kula Fellowship

A holistic 15 month program designed to eradicate poverty through the development of entrepeneurs. Provides industry training, life and leadership skills, and business investment to coffee and artisan fellows in coffee communities in rural Rwanda. FELLOWSHIP COMPONENTS: Industry training, Farmer field school, tailoring, weaving.

$629Kprogram expense

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Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$12K

By the numbers

The FY2021 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$916K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$847K
Other incomeLn 4–11$69K
Investment incomeLn 3$472
Money outPt IX
$749K
Ln 25
Programscol B$629K
Managementcol C$90K
Fundraisingcol D$31K
Owns and owesPt X
$439K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$349K
Total assetsLn 16$445K
LiabilitiesLn 26$5K
PeoplePt VI, VII
5
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a5
IndependentVI 1b5
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$847K
Government grantsLn 1e$29K
Investment incomeLn 3$472
Other incomeLn 4–11$69K
Total revenueLn 12$916K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$248K
SavingsLn 2$100K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$349K
Total assetsLn 16$445K
LiabilitiesLn 26$5K
Net assetsLn 32$439K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 53
VolunteersI 63
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY21End FY21
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$280K$349K
Total assetsLn 16$302K$445K
LiabilitiesLn 26$30K$5K
Net assetsLn 32$273K$439K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$76K$38K$38K$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$84K$84K$0$0
Other employee benefitsLn 9$8K$0$8K$0
Payroll taxesLn 10$12K$9K$3K$0
Management feesLn 11a$17K$0$17K$0
Accounting feesLn 11c$9K$0$9K$0
Advertising and promotionLn 12$26K$0$0$26K
Office expensesLn 13$4K$0$4K$0
Information technologyLn 14$5K$0$5K$0
InsuranceLn 23$468$0$468$0
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$508K$497K$6K$5K
Total functional expensesLn 25$749K$629K$90K$31K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $703K$828K−$126K$435K 990 PDF
FY2024 $1.0M$874K$131K$553K 990 PDF
FY2023 $623K$768K−$145K$404K 990 PDF
FY2022 $900K$829K$71K$547K 990 PDF
FY2021 Viewing $916K$749K$167K$439K 990 PDF
FY2020 $776K$644K$132K$273K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2021 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $916,217 across 5 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $69,243 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1e Government grants$28,750
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$817,752
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$846,502
VIII-3 Investment incomeUnrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$472
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $69,715 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$916,217
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $749,468 across 11 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $38,015 · Management $38,015 · Fundraising $0$76,030
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $84,224 · Management $0 · Fundraising $0$84,224
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $0 · Management $7,950 · Fundraising $0$7,950
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $9,353 · Management $2,908 · Fundraising $0$12,261
IX-11a Management feesPrograms $0 · Management $16,870 · Fundraising $0$16,870
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $0 · Management $8,662 · Fundraising $0$8,662
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $0 · Management $0 · Fundraising $25,706$25,706
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $0 · Management $3,834 · Fundraising $0$3,834
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $0 · Management $5,189 · Fundraising $0$5,189
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $0 · Management $468 · Fundraising $0$468
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $497,079 · Management $5,889 · Fundraising $5,306$508,274
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $628,671 · Management $89,785 · Fundraising $31,012$749,468
Part X · Balance sheet $444,774 assets, 9 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $279,883$248,302
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investments$100,472
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $22,500$96,000
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $302,383$444,774
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $1,045$5,437
X-24 Unsecured notes and loans payableStart of year $28,750$0
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $29,795$5,437
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $272,588$439,337
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $302,383$444,774
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $439,337 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$916,217
XI-2 Total expenses$749,468
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$166,749
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$272,588
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$439,337

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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