Dairy Discovery

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
823766300
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Alto, MI, USA
Phone
6168686735
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Agricultural Programs

Reported finances

Revenue
$406,823
Expenses
$370,794
Assets
$363,914
Liabilities
$16,107

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MATTHEW OESCH (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ANNIE LINK (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • THOMAS OESCH (SECRETARY)
  • MATTHEW OESCH (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ANNIE LINK (PRESIDENT)

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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To provide a personal connection to your food. Dairy discovery is committed to educating the west Michigan community about the integrity of food production, modern farming practices and benefits of technology use in the dairy industry.

What it reported doing in 2025

Beef, and food sales, school field trips, community outreach, and day camps to show community and consumers how their food is produced.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 82% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program 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.
  • 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.6%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 90%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.72 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

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: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 8.9%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.98; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 22.2% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.6% of revenue deployed · 90% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $334K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 12/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 55/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 28/100.