Unbound Now
End human trafficking. Ignite hope.
Unbound Now
EIN: 84-4960264
as of September 2023
as of September 18, 2023
Mission
Unbound Now supports survivors and resources communities in the United States and around the world to fight human trafficking.
Notes from the nonprofit
We do a lot of education as well to help young people and providers understand the signs of trafficking. In 2022 we presented to 14,468 students on how to protect themselves from trafficking and recognize the signs and red flags. We also trained 23,253 educators, medical professionals, law enforcement and legal providers to understand trafficking and recognize the signs and how to get resources for those they come in contact with who have potentially been trafficked.
Ruling year
2020
Founder & CEO
Susan Peters
Main address
4300 W Waco Dr Bldg B # 244
Waco, TX 76710 USA
EIN
84-4960264
Abuse prevention
Victim aid
Youth services
Shelter and residential care
Special population support
Population served
Adolescents
Adults
At-risk youth
Victims and oppressed people
NTEE code
Victims' Services (P62)
IRS subsection
501(c)(3) Public Charity
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
Tax forms
Communication
Affiliations
Programs and results
Reports and documents
Download annual reportsWhat we aim to solve
Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world, with more than 50 million victims worldwide. And it’s happening today — in our communities. Simply put, human trafficking is any time a person is forced, tricked, or manipulated into providing labor or sexual service for someone else’s financial gain. Or, anytime a child is involved in a commercial sex act, whether or not there is someone directly forcing them to do so.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Youth Prevention
Unbound Now works to educate and empower youth through partnerships with schools, juvenile detention centers, and local service providers.
Survivor Services
Unbound Now provides 24/7 crisis response, ongoing case management, and support for survivors of human trafficking.
Professional Training
Unbound Now provides training to equip all professionals to use their skills to identify and respond to victims of human trafficking.
Where we work
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of trafficking survivors served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Young adults, Adolescents, Preteens
Related Program
Survivor Services
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
*2018-2021 numbers are for the Unbound Now Waco office only, housed under Unbound Now. This is not representative of the impact of all Unbound Now offices, which have operated as separate entities.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Unbound Now envisions a world where every community is free from human trafficking.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Unbound Now HQ provides capacity building and strategic oversight to all Unbound Now locations worldwide. In this effort, Unbound Now launches new Unbound Now locations in the U.S. and overseas as separate organizations, and walks alongside those organizations to build sustainable programs to bring freedom to their communities.
Unbound Now local offices provide 24/7 crisis response and ongoing case management and support for survivors, participating in case staffing and coordinating with law enforcement and prosecutors on investigations. Unbound Now advocates strengthen victim restoration by providing survivor-centered, trauma-informed advocacy for survivors of trafficking. They respond to emotional and physical needs, assisting survivors, and as appropriate their families, in stabilizing their lives after victimization and recovery. Unbound Now advocates provide relational, trust-based advocacy, encouraging personal growth and pursuit of dreams and goals. Advocates assist in safety planning, completing crime victims' compensation applications, goal-setting, court and medical accompaniment, transportation to needed services, birthday and graduation celebrations, and wraparound services and support.
Unbound Now's youth prevention programs partner with schools, juvenile detention centers, and other youth-serving organizations to empower students to stay safe from trafficking and exploitation. Unbound Now provides one-time presentations, 5-week series, and ongoing weekly outreach groups. When youth disclose victimization following these trainings, Unbound Now advocates respond and walk alongside them in their journeys toward healing and restoration.
Unbound Now also provides training to equip all professionals to use their skills to identify and serve victims of human trafficking both in-person and online on-demand.
Unbound Now local offices also leads various coalitions, multi-disciplinary task forces of community stakeholders working together to prevent, identify and prosecute human trafficking cases and serve survivors.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Unbound Now was founded in 2012 with the mission of activating local communities to fight human trafficking through prevention & awareness, professional training and survivor advocacy. In 2012, Unbound Now launched programs in all service areas with one full-time and two-part time staff. Since then, Unbound Now has grown to a team of 75 staff across the world.
Additionally, Unbound Now `has received multiple federal and state grants that have brought significant funding to support survivor service programs for youth and adults. Unbound Now has a diverse array of funding sources including generous support from individual donors and foundations.
Our survivor advocacy teams are led by professionals with backgrounds in social work including multiple Licensed Master Social Workers, who lead teams of advocates in providing 24/7 crisis response and ongoing advocacy services for survivors of human trafficking.
Since 2012, Unbound Now has sustained continuous presence in providing prevention education to at-risk youth, awareness presentations to community members and professional training to key professionals like school personnel and educators. Unbound Now has a team of staff across offices that contribute to these areas.
Additionally, Unbound Now offices train thousands of professionals each year in properly identifying victims of human trafficking and knowing how to respond, through both in-person and on-demand online trainings. Unbound Now focuses on those professionals who may stand in the gap between a victim and their trafficker, training law enforcement, medical professionals, business owners, school faculty and staff, bus and taxi drivers and more.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Since Unbound Now's founding in 2012 they have launched 6 offices in the United States and 4 offices internationally in Mongolia, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Poland. Unbound Now offices in the United States maintain 24/7 crisis response services, making Unbound Now advocates often the first to arrive on the scene when a survivor contacts our hotline.
Additionally, Unbound Now has opened a 24/7 drop-in center in North Texas, providing a place to rest, meals, shower facilities, safety, trauma, counseling, and referral for services for youth up through age 22. Open 24/7 and with a street reputation such that youth on the street take a chance on visiting, the drop-in center provides an open door for a population that has historically been difficult to reach. It is also available as a much needed short-term resting place for survivors recovered from trafficking.
In 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Unbound Now made professional and community trainings available online on-demand and at request. As a result thousands of professionals across fields including medicine and hospitality have been trained each year on how to identify and respond appropriately to trafficking survivors. We also launched an office in Poland in response to the war in the Ukraine providing services at the borders where trafficking increased exponentially.
In 2022, Unbound Now opened The Reagan, a short term, specialized, residential placement for girls ages 12-17 who have been sexually exploited in Waco, Texas. We also launched offices in Austin, TX and Tyler, TX in 2022.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time
Financials
Financial documents
Download audited financialsRevenue vs. expenses: breakdown
Liquidity in 2021 info
11.28
Months of cash in 2021 info
10.7
Fringe rate in 2021 info
16%
Funding sources info
Assets & liabilities info
Financial data
Unbound Now
Balance sheetFiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31
The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the financial health of an organization at a particular point in time. An organization's total assets should generally exceed its total liabilities, or it cannot survive long, but the types of assets and liabilities must also be considered. For instance, an organization's current assets (cash, receivables, securities, etc.) should be sufficient to cover its current liabilities (payables, deferred revenue, current year loan, and note payments). Otherwise, the organization may face solvency problems. On the other hand, an organization whose cash and equivalents greatly exceed its current liabilities might not be putting its money to best use.
Fiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31
This snapshot of Unbound Now’s financial trends applies Nonprofit Finance Fund® analysis to data hosted by GuideStar. While it highlights the data that matter most, remember that context is key – numbers only tell part of any story.
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Business model indicators
| Profitability info | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted surplus (deficit) before depreciation | $424,370 | $452,670 |
| As % of expenses | 102.8% | 65.7% |
| Unrestricted surplus (deficit) after depreciation | $416,707 | $445,007 |
| As % of expenses | 99.1% | 63.9% |
| Revenue composition info | ||
|---|---|---|
| Total revenue (unrestricted & restricted) | $837,304 | $1,175,780 |
| Total revenue, % change over prior year | 0.0% | 40.4% |
| Program services revenue | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Membership dues | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Investment income | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Government grants | 10.6% | 21.8% |
| All other grants and contributions | 89.4% | 78.0% |
| Other revenue | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| Expense composition info | ||
|---|---|---|
| Total expenses before depreciation | $412,934 | $688,920 |
| Total expenses, % change over prior year | 0.0% | 66.8% |
| Personnel | 41.7% | 71.3% |
| Professional fees | 0.6% | 6.9% |
| Occupancy | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| Interest | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Pass-through | 39.0% | 0.0% |
| All other expenses | 18.7% | 21.7% |
| Full cost components (estimated) info | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Total expenses (after depreciation) | $420,597 | $696,583 |
| One month of savings | $34,411 | $57,410 |
| Debt principal payment | $0 | $0 |
| Fixed asset additions | $24,490 | $0 |
| Total full costs (estimated) | $479,498 | $753,993 |
Capital structure indicators
| Liquidity info | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Months of cash | 9.7 | 10.7 |
| Months of cash and investments | 9.7 | 10.7 |
| Months of estimated liquid unrestricted net assets | 11.6 | 14.9 |
| Balance sheet composition info | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | $333,086 | $611,758 |
| Investments | $0 | $0 |
| Receivables | $36,022 | $117,852 |
| Gross land, buildings, equipment (LBE) | $24,490 | $24,490 |
| Accumulated depreciation (as a % of LBE) | 31.3% | 62.6% |
| Liabilities (as a % of assets) | 6.9% | 6.2% |
| Unrestricted net assets | $416,707 | $861,714 |
| Temporarily restricted net assets | N/A | N/A |
| Permanently restricted net assets | N/A | N/A |
| Total restricted net assets | $0 | $83,073 |
| Total net assets | $416,707 | $944,787 |
Key data checks
| Key data checks info | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Material data errors | No | No |
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Documents
Founder & CEO
Susan Peters
Susan Peters is the founder and CEO of Unbound Now, a worldwide anti-human trafficking organization founded in 2012. In her role, she oversees Unbound Now’s locations across the United States and around the world. Susan is the chair of the Heart of Texas Human Trafficking Coalition, which she founded alongside community leaders in 2014.
Susan earned a B.A. in Communications from Baylor University and a Masters in Global Leadership from Fuller Theological Seminary. Along with her responsibilities with Unbound Now and the Heart of Texas Human Trafficking Coalition, Susan has worked as an adjunct professor at Baylor University and serves on the executive team and as an elder at Antioch Community Church.
Number of employees
Source: IRS Form 990
Unbound Now
Officers, directors, trustees, and key employeesSOURCE: IRS Form 990
Compensation data
There are no highest paid employees recorded for this organization.
Unbound Now
Board of directorsas of 06/26/2023
Board of directors data
Jeff Abshire
Antioch Community Church Waco
Term: 2022 -
Dillon Meek
City of Waco, Texas
Rachel Hobbs
Taylor Nonwovens
Drew Steadman
Antioch Movement
Jeff Abshire
Antioch Community Church of Waco
Susan Peters
Unbound Now
Karla Solomon
Mercy Gate Ministries
Krishna Durairaj
Amazon Web Services
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 06/26/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
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- Letter of Determination
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- Contractor and/or Paid Preparer data for 2021, 2020
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