Catholic Biblical School of Michigan
Legal name: Catholic Biblical School of Michigan Ltd
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 271244744
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2025
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Warren, MI, United States
- Phone
- (586) 438-3085
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $398,309
- Expenses
- $389,043
- Assets
- $191,622
- Liabilities
- $2,779
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Cathryn A Wade-Torgerson (Vice President treasurer)
- Beth M Spizarny (Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- Cathryn A Wade-Torgerson (Vice President treasurer): $68,729 total reported compensation
- Beth M Spizarny (Vice President): $51,028 total reported compensation
- Colleen E Vermeulen (Secretary): $27,559 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The Catholic Biblical School of Michigan (CBSM) teaches the Bible through engaging lectures, supported by prayer and discussion, to help participants encounter God and apply God’s Word as missionary disciples. Your Support (Tuition/Donations) Impact and Financial Reports About Our Ministry. In the Catholic Biblical School of Michigan, our team of teachers and staff are passionate about being our best and ensuring we are effective in fulfilling the mission the Church has entrusted us with as a lay apostolate. We do this by surveying those who participate in our classes, capturing numbers and stories that provide a glimpse of how God is working transformation in CBSM ministries. The Numbers.
What it reported doing in 2025
The school held 19 classes in the Archdiocese of Detroit and the dioceses of Lansing Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids. The school also sponsored shorter courses for young adults. Discipleship seminars for Graduates. We also Provided 4 courses online.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 81% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
- 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
STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 75
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 77
- Sustainability: 32
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 83.8%; rating input score 84
- Program expense ratio: 85.8%; rating input score 86
- 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: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 2.3%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.49; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 37.9%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 8.6% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 11.3% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
- Where the money goes: 83.8% of revenue deployed · 85.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $334K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $69K · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- 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.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 41/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 24/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 37/100.