Cornerstone Alliance

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
382772476
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Benton Harbor, MI, USA
Phone
2699256100
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Economic Development

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,684,560
Expenses
$3,893,114
Assets
$8,254,665
Liabilities
$2,569,192

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

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROBERT CLEVELAND (PRESIDENT/CEO - PART YEAR)
  • CHRISTINA FRANK (INTERIM PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ROBERT CLEVELAND (PRESIDENT/CEO - PART YEAR): $185,426 total reported compensation
  • CHRISTINA FRANK (INTERIM PRESIDENT): $163,200 total reported compensation
  • ANDREW HAAN (VP OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT): $134,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

See schedule o

What it reported doing in 2024

Cornerstone alliance is an economic development organization (edo) engaged in activities to improve the economic performance of Michigan's great southwest. The 2022-2024 strategic plan is focused on four initiatives: economic growth, physical development, community leadership and organizational development.

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 98% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.5%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 75.8%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.33 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 72.9%; rating input score 73; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -5.7%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.12; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.31; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.4%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -12.1% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.8% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -12.4% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.5% of revenue deployed · 75.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $185K · 27 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 37 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 42/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 19/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 33/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.