Conservation Resource Alliance

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
382181915
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Traverse City, MI, USA
Phone
2319466817
Rating
89
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,987,685
Expenses
$4,018,473
Assets
$6,144,428
Liabilities
$1,007,840

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SUZANNE KNOLL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • SUZANNE KNOLL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $99,117 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 conservation resource alliance's mission is to preserve and protect northern Michigan's waterways, wildlife, and forests for future generations.

What it reported doing in 2025

The stream restoration program is designed to address stream bank erosion, failing road stream crossings, dams, and recreational access sites, which cause adverse biological impacts to animal and plant life and threaten the ecology of entire watersheds. Restoration programs provide for road crossing improvements, structural stabilization measures, dam removal, and stream channel restoration to improve habitat and water quality. Four million acres in fifteen counties and fifteen streams have been aided through this program.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 39
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 89.9%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 88.5%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $18.64 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: -0.8%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.53; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.16; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.5%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 89.9% of revenue deployed · 88.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $3.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $99K · 10 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.4M reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 57/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 24/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 49/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 39/100.