Downtown Lansing Partnership Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
383511288
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2023
Location
Lansing, MI, USA
Phone
5174873322
Rating
60
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Chambers of Commerce & Business Leagues

Reported finances

Revenue
$252,458
Expenses
$71,256
Assets
$207,374
Liabilities
$6,500

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOSHUA PUGH (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • JEN ESTILL (PRESIDENT)
  • CATHLEEN EDGERLY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • CATHLEEN EDGERLY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $101,846 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To support the economic development and improvement of the downtown area of lansing, Michigan, for the benefit of the entire community, including residents, visitors, government, business, and nonprofit organizations, through such means as assisting and participating in developing planning by government and private organizations; supporting efforts to attract funding for community improvement projects; encouraging maintenance and improvement of existing housing, business, and institutional buildings and stimulating needed new housing, business, and institutional construction; working to retain existing businesses and attract new business development that will benefit the community; and raising funds needed to support the organization's work.

What it reported doing in 2024

Promoted downtown businesses and district and continued work on pre-development for a restaurant accelerator and welcomed the 5th cohort of retail accelerator participants.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 94% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 42
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 69
  • Growth: NotEnoughData

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 24%; rating input score 24
  • Program expense ratio: 85%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 83.1%; rating input score 83; 49th 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: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: 71.8%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.91; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: Limited

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: Limited
  • Asset growth: Limited

Details

  • Where the money goes: 24% of revenue deployed · 85% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $61K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $102K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 18 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 24/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 36/100.