Access of West Michigan

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
383195190
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Grand Rapids, MI, United States
Phone
+1 (616) 774-2175
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Interfaith Coalitions
Affiliation
Interfaith

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,413,364
Expenses
$1,273,719
Assets
$412,562
Liabilities
$267,179

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • TINLEY KINDY (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS)
  • GRATIA LEE (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS)

Highest reported compensation

  • TINLEY KINDY (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS): $59,260 total reported compensation
  • GRATIA LEE (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS): $55,460 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Access of West Michigan strengthens equitable systems by coordinating community resources, investing in local food access, and equipping institutions to respond to poverty with informed and collaborative approaches. Congregation Connections works to strengthen communities throughout Kent County by supporting ministry and outreach teams with a focus on social justice, community development, and antiracism. We collaborate across denominations and faith communities throughout Kent County, offering training and casework services. Our Mission And Vision Our mission is to train, assist, and collaborate with faith-based communities on issues of social justice, equity, community development, and anti-racism.

What it reported doing in 2024

Good food system. Good food systems remained the organizations primry area of activity in fiscal year ended march 31, 2025. Access of west Michigan received approximately $574,000 in support for food system initiatives and passed through approximately $456,000 to community partners, strengthening local food access infrastructure accross west Michigan. Funding including rapid relief resources and stabilization grants, including support from the wk kellogg foundation and cdv5. Resources were directed toward food access initiatives and local food economy partners, reinforcing community based distribution networks and advancing health equity. Access of west Michigan also raised approximately $48,000 through the walk for good food fundraiser to support this work. In a year marked by leadership transition, good food systems operations continued uninterrupted, ensuring that committed funds were responsibily stewarded and disbursed to partners.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 39
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.9%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 86.5%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 78.6%; rating input score 79; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 9.9%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.32; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.65; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.4% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.1% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 77.9% of revenue deployed · 86.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $59K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 25 current checks pass · 3 findings to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule D expense reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule D revenue reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 12/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.