A Better Michigan

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
320586981
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Okemos, MI, USA
Phone
5174832296
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$142,997
Expenses
$81,842
Assets
$3,063,160
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • HOWARD EDELSON (PRESIDENT)
  • BRANDON HOFMEISTER (VICE-PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • HOWARD EDELSON (PRESIDENT)
  • BRANDON HOFMEISTER (VICE-PRESIDENT)
  • ERIC DOSTER (SECRETARY/TREASURER)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Educate legislators and the general public on issues facing Michigan, and to advocate citizen participation and obtain grassroots support for public policies relating to federal, state, and local legislation, and ballot questions.

What it reported doing in 2024

The organization focused on developing research to support the organization's mission.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 62
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 88
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 54.6%; rating input score 55
  • Program expense ratio: 95.4%; rating input score 95
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 42.8%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 37.43; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -31.7% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 34.8% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.9% per year; rating input score 0; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 54.6% of revenue deployed · 95.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $78K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 11 of 11 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 55/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.