Unicode INC EIN 77-0269756 Form 990 (PDF) Claim this org

Unicode INC FY2021 filing

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Develops and promotes standards and open source software for text representation, enabling global data sharing. For fiscal year 2021 it reported $637K in revenue, $742K in expenses, and $1.7M in net assets.Pt I

Founded
1991
Type
Public charity (501(c)(3)) · Science & Technology
Location
South San Francisco, CA
Website
home.unicode.org
Filings
6 on file (2020–2021)
Revenue
$637KFY2021
Expenses
$742K
Net assets
$1.7M
People
16
Filings
6
Updates
0
More identity details & actions ⌄
EIN  77-0269756 Public charity (501(c)(3)) South San Francisco, CA Founded 1991
Form 990 (PDF)
You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →
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Size
$100K–1M
What they do
Develops and promotes standards and open source software for text representation, enabling global data sharing.
Leadership
Rick McGowan · VP, Information Technology · $103K
Money in and out
$637K revenue, $742K expenses
Bottom line
72% program efficiency
Where the money goes · FY2021
Total revenue
$637K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$742K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$1.7M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$105K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.72 Management & general $0.22 Fundraising $0.06
Program efficiency
72%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
25.5mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
-16%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2021 · Form 990
Revenue
$637K
FY2021▲ +29%
Expenses
$742K
FY2021▲ +42%
Total assets
$1.7M
FY2021▼ -2%
Total liabilities
$114
FY2021▲ +6%
Total revenue
$637K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$742K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$1.7M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$105K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$1.7M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B72%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 310
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 410
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $536K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2021.
01

The unicode common locale data repository (CLDR) provides key building blocks for software to support the world's languages, with the largest and most extensive standard repository of locale data available.

$299Kprogram expense
02

The unicode technical committee (utc), is responsible for the development and maintenance of the unicode standard, including the unicode character database, as well as unicode technical reports and unicode technical standards. As appropriate, the utc releases updates and errata to its publications or takes public positions.

$119Kprogram expense
03

The international components for unicode (icu) is a mature, widely used set of C/C++ and java libraries providing unicode and globalization support for software applications. Icu is widely portable and gives applications the same results on all platforms and between C/C++ and java software.

$119Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CUnicode INC
EINHdr · item D77-0269756
Principal addressHdr · item CSouth San Francisco, CA
WebsiteHdr · item Jhome.unicode.org
Year of formationHdr · item L1991
State of legal domicileHdr · item MCA
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFScience & Technology (U41)
Ruling yearIRS BMFMar 2013

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a10
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b10
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 2Yes

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
VP, Information Technology
$102,817Pt VII · Sec A
Executive Director & COO
$81,533Pt VII · Sec A
President and Chair of the Board
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer (from June 2021)
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Toral Cowieson’s $264K as CEO is at the 98th percentile of top reported officer pay among 310 $100K–1M science & technology 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 · 3 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021
Toral Cowieson$264,456$253,575$229,500$195,000$81,533
Rick McGowan$145,806$119,675$114,833$102,817
Gregg Lechner$112,467

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$429K · 67%
Program service revenue$168K · 26%
Investment income$40K · 6%
Contributions & grants67%$429K
Program service revenue26%$168K
Investment income6%$40K
— government grantsLn 1e$49K
Total revenueLn 12$637K

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.72 Management & general $0.22 Fundraising $0.06
Program services72%$536K
Management & general22%$161K
Fundraising6%$45K
Total functional expensesLn 25$742K

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$359K
Total assetsLn 16$1.7M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$114
Total net assetsLn 32$1.7M
Months of cash on handcomputed5.8

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2021 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $1.6M · Operating expenses/yr $742K
25.5 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $536K · Total expenses $742K
72%
Management & General
Management & general $161K · Total expenses $742K
22%
Fundraising
Fundraising $45K · Total expenses $742K
6%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (2-yr avg) $23K · Solicited contributions (2-yr avg) $316K
$0.07 to raise $1 (2-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $429K · Total revenue $637K
67%
Government reliance
Government grants $49K · Total revenue $637K
8%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $168K · Total revenue $637K
26%
Investment reliance
Investment income $40K · Total revenue $637K
+6%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $168K · Total expenses $742K
23%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $637K · Prior year $494K
+29%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $1.7M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $637K · Expenses $742K
-16%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $1.7M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $1.7M · Total assets $1.7M
100%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $1.2M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $1.7M
73%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Rick McGowan · Reported title VP, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY · Highest reported compensation $103K · Total expenses $742K
14%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $374K · Total expenses $742K
50%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 72%
Overhead ratio 22%
Fundraising cost ratio 11%
Revenue growth 29%
Investment management fee ratio 0.4%
Legal fee ratio 3%
Accounting fee ratio 0.7%

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 · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$12K
Grants paid · 3 grants · $206K · 2020–2022
Unitemized GrantFY2022$44,000
Unitemized GrantFY2021$84,049
Unitemized GrantFY2020$77,613

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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
FY2025 (Latest)$860K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$904K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$924K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$806K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$637K revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$494K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2021IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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