Digital Lakes Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
874084987
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023, Form 990-EZ 2022
Location
Troy, MI, USA
Phone
2487610380
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Management & Technical Assistance

Reported finances

Revenue
$278,012
Expenses
$295,080
Assets
$98,339
Liabilities
$114,717

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JOHN FIKANY (CO-FOUNDER): $22,545 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To showcase Michigan as a premier digital hub - attracting, developing, and retaining top tech talent across industries, while simultaneously enhancing the growth and vitality of our state and the economy.

What it reported doing in 2023

Micro-internship program: a talent attraction and retention program, specifically designed to introduce students to the wide variety of technology related careers, attracting top talent to our companies and the state.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 72% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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

SUPPORTED - 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: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 64
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 98.9%; rating input score 99
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Limited
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -6.1%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.33; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.17; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: Limited

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 115% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 26.9% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 98.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $292K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $23K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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: 5 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.