Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
383353746
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Detroit, MI, USA
Phone
(313) 876-0674
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Employment Procurement Assistance

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$72,561,677
Expenses
$79,055,522
Assets
$17,356,468
Liabilities
$15,756,313

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DANA WILLIAMS (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • DANA WILLIAMS (PRESIDENT & CEO): $193,542 total reported compensation
  • DIANA PROSI (DETROIT AT WORK BRAND MANAGER): $181,593 total reported compensation
  • TRACI SASSAK (CFO (ENDED 12/2024)): $174,650 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation (DESC) has been designated by the City of Detroit Mayor’s Workforce Development Board (MWDB) to act the fiscal and administrative entity responsible for providing workforce services to job seekers and employers throughout the City.

What it reported doing in 2024

The jumpstart program - desc serves as the subrecipient, fiduciary and administrator on behalf of the city of detroit for the arpa funded jumpstart program that supports and responds to the economic impact of covid by connecting individuals to job placement, work readiness training, and/or education programs to increase the skillsets for those who have been underemployed for at least 24 weeks. The program requires participants to undertake an employment or skills training opportunity in addition to attending job readiness training and financial literacy workshops. Participants will receive stipends to assist with common barriers to success, such as housing, transportation, and/or childcare costs. To help participants progress through the program, participants will work with a case manager or in-detroit organization (ido) for resources support. To ensure idos are positioned to provide helpful information and support participants during recruitment, desc coordinates periodic trainings to idos to boost public program knowledge. The jumpstart program supports individuals who have been out of the workforce and education for 24 weeks or more and will provide them with incentives and additional support to increase the likelihood of success in the workforce that remain in the program for up to 18 months as they complete their chosen educational, training, or work experience. Program ended june 30, 2025.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 98% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 65% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 15
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 98.9%; rating input score 99
  • Program expense ratio: 90.8%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 40th 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: -8.9%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.22; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.91; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.5%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.5% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 98.9% of revenue deployed · 90.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 10 filed program accomplishments · $71.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $194K · 19 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.7M reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 35 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 27 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 7/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 12/100.