Door County Economic Development Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
391621905
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Sturgeon Bay, WI, USA
Phone
9207433113
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Rural Economic Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$599,507
Expenses
$700,936
Assets
$2,325,381
Liabilities
$50,756

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MICHELLE LAWRIE (SECRETARY AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHELLE LAWRIE (SECRETARY AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $117,548 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Dcedc is a public/private partnership dedicated to improving the economic vitality of the county and its residents. Dcedc has been successful in helping existing businesses create and retain thousands of jobs through a myriad of programs and initiatives.

What it reported doing in 2025

In 2025, the door county economic development corporation (dcedc) continued implementation of the third year of its 2023-2025 strategic plan, focused on delivering programs, initiatives, and services that support the success and sustainability of businesses of all sizes and sectors throughout door county. Key accomplishments and activities in 2025 included: workforce development: conducted the sturgeon bay development tour to showcase new residential, commercial, and industrial development opportunities within the city, contributing to momentum for a recently announced 60-unit housing project on sturgeon bay's west side, while also helping cultivate additional future development opportunities. Supported workforce pipeline and student engagement efforts through the high school job fair, manufacturing day tours, and continued collaboration through the business and education partnership committee to strengthen connections between local employers, students, and schools. Assisted communities with broadband enhancement grant applications and conducted and presented research related to the impact of broadband improvements on secondary residents and the local economy. Continued providing a countywide rental housing inventory resource to help businesses connect workers with available housing opportunities and supported local efforts to increase housing inventory. Enhanced access to economic development resources through updates to the organization's website and expanded communications and social media outreach connecting residents and businesses with programs, tools, and opportunities.business advancement and advocacy: led the 2025 legislative days initiative in madison, providing opportunities for door county residents, businesses, and community leaders to engage with state policymakers and increase awareness of how statewide policy decisions impact the county's economy, workforce, infrastructure, and business climate.communications and engagement: expanded outreach and engagement efforts through enhanced digital communications, increased social media presence, and continued promotion of economic development resources, programs, and community opportunities. Continued improvements to the economic development website helped provide businesses, residents, and community stakeholders with greater access to information, tools, and local development resources.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 77% for direct work, and 23% for grants.

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: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 88
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 95.2%; rating input score 95
  • Program expense ratio: 81.2%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $17.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 42nd 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; 64th 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: -16.9%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.32; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.8%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.3% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 95.2% of revenue deployed · 81.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $569K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $118K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 34 of 35 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 13 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 12 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 51/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.