Nonprofit · EIN 71-0464321
COMMUNITIES UNLIMITED INC
Tax-exempt · FAYETTEVILLE, AR 72703
Financials
| Year ended | Form | Revenue | Expenses | Net income | Total assets | Liabilities | Net assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 30, 2025 | 990 | $17,366,019 | $15,653,715 | $1,712,304 | $46,254,247 | $23,024,903 | $23,229,344 |
| September 30, 2024 | 990 | $15,434,686 | $14,726,552 | $708,134 | $40,019,464 | $18,502,424 | $21,517,040 |
| September 30, 2023 | 990 | $15,485,400 | $12,312,477 | $3,172,923 | $36,993,001 | $16,443,500 | $20,549,501 |
Financial details: 990 for the year ended September 30, 2025
Revenue
- Contributions, gifts and grants
- $15,166,713
- of which government grants
- $9,920,038
- Program service revenue
- $1,647,535
- Investment income
- $531,670
- Other revenue
- $20,101
Expenses
- Grants and similar amounts paid
- $1,160,594
- Compensation of officers, directors and key employees
- $140,572
- Other salaries and wages
- $8,305,608
- Salaries, compensation and benefits (total)
- $10,580,899
- Professional fundraising fees
- $0
- Legal fees
- $29,727
- Accounting fees
- $304,273
- Occupancy
- $158,467
- Travel
- $690,626
- Depreciation
- $78,965
- Program services (functional)
- $12,942,771
- Management and general (functional)
- $2,654,625
- Fundraising (functional)
- $56,319
Balance sheet and other
- Total assets, start of year
- $40,019,464
- Total assets, end of year
- $46,254,247
- Total liabilities, end of year
- $23,024,903
- Net assets, end of year
- $23,229,344
- Land, buildings and equipment
- $843,371
- Net assets without donor restrictions
- $23,229,344
- Gross receipts
- $17,366,019
- Employees
- 0
- Volunteers
- 0
- Year formed
- 1975
- State of legal domicile
- AR
From the e-filed returns the IRS publishes as XML (latest three processing years; amended returns replace the original). PDF copies at the IRS.
Officers, directors and key employees
As listed on the 990 for the year ended September 30, 2025, highest compensation first.
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation | Other / benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ines Polonius | CEO Officer | 30 | $157,969 | $24,327 |
| Kimberly Griffey | CFO Officer | 40 | $139,472 | $24,004 |
| Elaine Crutchfield | Director of Program Services Highest-paid employee | 40 | $126,092 | $30,255 |
| Cynthia Terry | Director of Entrepreneurship Highest-paid employee | 40 | $117,828 | $22,562 |
| Martha Claire Bullen | Director of Community Sustainability Highest-paid employee | 40 | $106,864 | $26,336 |
| Michael Rivera | Director of Loan Fund Highest-paid employee | 40 | $118,866 | $13,438 |
| Karen Conrad | Director of Community Infrastructure Highest-paid employee | 40 | $105,543 | $14,542 |
| Donna Kay Yeargan | Board member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Salomon Torres | Board Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Maximillan Sprinkle | Board Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Dominique Gomez | Board Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Justin Maxson | Board Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Deborah Warren | Board Chair Officer | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Billy Hix | Vice Chair Officer | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Deb Markley | Secretary Treasurer Officer | 1 | $0 | $0 |
990 for the year ended September 30, 2024: 15 people
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation | Other / benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ines Polonius | CEO Officer, Highest-paid employee | 40 | $145,242 | $22,720 |
| Kimberly Griffey | CFO Officer, Highest-paid employee | 40 | $128,496 | $22,841 |
| Elaine Crutchfield | Director of Program Services Officer, Highest-paid employee | 40 | $121,046 | $25,959 |
| Thomas Ricks | Director of Environmental Services Key employee, Highest-paid employee | 40 | $122,494 | $22,490 |
| Cynthia Terry | Director of Entrepreneurship Officer, Highest-paid employee | 40 | $110,277 | $22,910 |
| Bryn Bagwell | Director of Loan Fund Key employee, Highest-paid employee | 40 | $111,887 | $15,933 |
| Martha Claire Bullen | Director of Community Sustainability Key employee, Highest-paid employee | 40 | $100,489 | $24,947 |
| Donna Kay Yeargan | Board member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Salomon Torres | Board Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Maximillan Sprinkle | Board Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Justin Maxson | Board Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Dominique Gomez | Board Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Deborah Warren | Board President Officer | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Billy Hix | Vice Chair Officer | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Deb Markley | Secretary Treasurer Officer | 1 | $0 | $0 |
990 for the year ended September 30, 2023: 12 people
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation | Other / benefits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ines Polonius | CEO Officer, Highest-paid employee | 40 | $131,143 | $20,915 |
| Elaine Crutchfield | Director of Program Services Highest-paid employee | 40 | $115,401 | $23,841 |
| Thomas Ricks | Director of Environmental Services Highest-paid employee | 40 | $116,141 | $21,020 |
| Kimberly Griffey | CFO Officer, Highest-paid employee | 40 | $109,137 | $20,274 |
| Bryn Bagwell | Director of Loan Fund Highest-paid employee | 40 | $106,257 | $15,480 |
| Deborah Warren | Board Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Donna Kay Yeargan | Board member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Salomon Torres | Board Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Maximillan Sprinkle | Board Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Dominique Gomez | Board Member Trustee or director | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Chris Page | Board President Officer | 1 | $0 | $0 |
| Billy Hix | Secretary Treasurer Officer | 1 | $0 | $0 |
Address and contacts
- Address (IRS master file)
- 3 E COLT SQUARE DR, FAYETTEVILLE, AR 72703-2884
- Principal officer (990 for 2024)
- Ines Polonius, 3 East Colt Square Drive, Fayetteville, AR 72703
- Signed the 990
- Ines Polonius, CEO
- Phone
- (479) 443-2700
- Website
- www.communitiesu.org
Mission
Communities Unlimited connects rural Americans to solutions that sustain healthy businesses, healthy communities and healthy lives through programs focused on community sustainability, entrepreneurship, charitable lending, healthy food and water initiatives.
Program accomplishments
- CU's Community Infrastructure Services Program works with small population community infrastructure management systems: community drinking water systems; wastewater systems; and solid waste management systems through on-site technical assistance, training, publications, and financing. With a current staff of over 50 highly trained professional technical assistance providers, CU Community Infrastructure Services supports efforts to provide access to safe drinking water for everyone and responsible waste disposal within an ever-changing regulatory environment. Our technical assistance focuses on building local capacity of governing board members, water system operators, and other system staff so that they will develop and maintain the capability to adequately manage and operate their water/wastewater management systems. CU provides infrastructure technical assistance and training throughout a seven-state region of Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma.Expenses $5,488,561 · revenue $6,882,455
- In 1992, CU started making loans to water and wastewater systems in rural areas to ensure that residents had clean, healthy drinking water and safe wastewater treatment systems. In 2001 CU was certified as a CDFI. Loans made to water and wastewater management systems are used for improvement projects, pre-development financing, purchase of equipment and emergency financing needs. In 2025, CU closed $3,970,346 in loans to 18 water and wastewater systems to improve their systems. These loans included $931,000 (24%) loaned in Persistent Poverty Counties. Loans ranged from the small loan needed to meet compliance to larger loans for pre-development work that helped these communities access larger state and federal loans. These loans impacted 9,945 household in Arkansas, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, and Oklahoma in communities with poverty rates as high as 35%. Small business lending was added in 2010 as small businesses were struggling to recover from the 2008 recession and bank lending tightened. Again, CU works to fill the gap in financing with loans from $1,000 to $200,000 to small businesses that do not qualify for traditional financing. Small business loans can be used for working capital, which is one of the biggest gaps in small business financing. Other uses include purchase or repair of equipment and real estate purchase or improvements. CU offers a variety of small business loan products that are designed to grow as the business grows. In 2025, CU increased loan production by 14%. Sixty-five small businesses received $2,068,354 in loans, averaging $31,821. 63% of small business loans went to rural areas. In 2025, CU's home improvement program provided 146 loans, making a direct impact on the resident' living conditions and often increasing the values of their largest asset. In March 2025, CU expanded the program's territory by launching the home improvement program in the Arkansas Delta region, providing 38 loans and $132,000 in loan capital The program also offers credit counseling and financial incentives to pay on time and improve individual credit scores allowing for improved access to traditional financial products. Through CU's credit counseling efforts, payment monitoring and one on one personal assistance, 81% of the renewal customers have seen an increase in their FICO score, with at least 49 borrowers reporting a score for the first time.Expenses $1,968,748 · grants $3,815 · revenue $4,255,300
- Housing, Entrepreneurship, and Community Sustainability: CU follows a holistic, community-centered housing approach with a focus on local capacity building, technical assistance, resource development, and housing preservation and development. CU staff works with their communities to create a housing taskforce, complete a comprehensive housing needs assessment, assist with strategic planning, and support the communities in grant writing. CU provided prepurchase homebuyer education and housing counseling to support individuals and families as they apply for mortgages for home purchases or loans for home rehabilitation. - Entrepreneurship - During fiscal year 2025, the Entrepreneurship Team assisted 357 clients in one-on-one engagements ranging from 25 to 100 hours of management consulting. The program served 325 business in various training events such as webinars, live workshops, and our self-paced Learning Management System. Through the Entrepreneurship team's wealth building initiative (launched in August 2022), CU is teaching business owners how to use their business as a tool for personal wealth creation. Over 144 clients committed to the program so far that includes 100+ hours of consulting and training. Business owners are taught how to grow business retained earnings that are then used strategically toward increasing the owner's personal net worth, establishing retirement accounts, securing capital or other wealth creation strategies. Community Sustainability - As FY 2025 closed, CU's Community Sustainability team worked alongside leadership teams in 152 communities, developing more vibrant, sustainable economies by leveraging local assets for long-term growth. CU's staff facilitates this process and assists by coordinating internal and external resources to address broadband access and education, healthy foods, infrastructure management and improvement, community facility development, small business development and access to financing. Within the CS team our Healthy Foods program provides technical assistance and access to resources that created connections to new market opportunities for farmers; completion of GAP/GHP certification by small-scale underserved farmers; development and/or expansion of local markets; connections between local medical providers and schools to local producers resulting in increased access to fresh produce; and expanded access to resources to meet transportation, aggregation and storage needs in unserved rural areas. The Broadband work impacts communities across all seven states of CU's service area with focus intentionally beginning in those communities where CS teammates have already established trusting relationships and leadership teams allowing for expedited opportunities. The team of broadband content experts uses an award-winning broadband planning methodology recognized through a second USDA Broadband Technical Assistance grant and partnered as a subcontractor on a third USDA BTA award in 2025. Since 2022, the team offers broadband planning, capacity building training, to ensure all homes and businesses have access to high speed Internet.Expenses $5,131,684 · grants $1,156,779 · revenue $5,206,022
- Miscellaneous programsExpenses $353,778 · revenue $1,022,242
What it must file and when
IRS records say it files Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N. Its accounting year ends in September, so each return is due on the 15th day of the 5th month after that.
| Tax year | Year ended | Due | IRS public records |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | September 30, 2026 | February 15, 2027 | Not due yet |
| 2024 | September 30, 2025 | February 16, 2026 | 990 on file |
| 2023 | September 30, 2024 | February 17, 2025 | 990 on file |
IRS record
- EIN
- 71-0464321
- Tax-exempt status
- 501(c)(3): Charitable, religious, educational or scientific organization
- Foundation status
- Publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(A)(vi))
- Donations deductible (Pub 78)
- Public charity, 50% deduction limit
- Exempt since
- 1977
- Accounting year ends
- September
- Files
- Form 990 or 990-EZ
- Category (NTEE)
- Community improvement and capacity building (S200)
- Assets (IRS master file)
- $46,254,247
- Income (IRS master file)
- $17,366,019
Filing history
| Form | Year ended | Revenue | Expenses | Assets | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 990 | September 2025 | $17,366,019 | $15,653,715 | $46,254,247 | IRS |
| 990 | September 2024 | $15,434,686 | $14,726,552 | $40,019,464 | XML |
| 990 | September 2023 | $15,485,400 | $12,312,477 | $36,993,001 | IRS |
| 990 | September 2022 | $9,936,122 | $8,978,642 | $26,843,803 | IRS |
| 990 | September 2021 | – | – | – | IRS |
| 990 | September 2020 | – | – | – | IRS |
990-N: the IRS bulk file holds only the latest e-Postcard per organization; earlier years come from archived copies of that file since 2020 and can have gaps (the IRS e-Postcard search lists every one). 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF, 990-T: every e-filed return in the IRS e-file index since 2019; XML for the latest three processing years, amounts from the IRS Statistics of Income extracts before that. PDF copies and determination letters at the IRS (search EIN 71-0464321).
Questions about COMMUNITIES UNLIMITED INC
- What is the EIN of COMMUNITIES UNLIMITED INC?
- The employer identification number (EIN) of COMMUNITIES UNLIMITED INC is 71-0464321.
- Is COMMUNITIES UNLIMITED INC tax-exempt?
- Yes. The IRS lists it as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) since 1977.
- Are donations to COMMUNITIES UNLIMITED INC tax-deductible?
- Yes. It is listed in IRS Publication 78 (Public charity, 50% deduction limit).
- Which annual return does COMMUNITIES UNLIMITED INC file?
- Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N.
- When is the next return of COMMUNITIES UNLIMITED INC due?
- The return for tax year 2025 (the year ending September 30, 2026) is due February 15, 2027. Form 8868 extends it by six months; the 990-N cannot be extended.
- When did COMMUNITIES UNLIMITED INC last file with the IRS?
- The latest return in the IRS public files is the 990 for the year ended September 2025.
- Who is the principal officer of COMMUNITIES UNLIMITED INC?
- The 990 for the year ended September 30, 2025 names Ines Polonius.
- Who are the officers and directors of COMMUNITIES UNLIMITED INC?
- The 990 for the year ended September 30, 2025 lists 15 people; 7 received compensation from the organization, the highest $157,969 (Ines Polonius, CEO).
- How much revenue does COMMUNITIES UNLIMITED INC have?
- On its 990 for the year ended September 30, 2025 it reported revenue of $17,366,019, expenses of $15,653,715 and total assets of $46,254,247 at year end.
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