Foundation for Excellence Walled Lake Schools

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
383041277
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2020
Location
Walled Lake, MI, USA
Phone
2489562116
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public Foundations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$123,351
Expenses
$103,282
Assets
$462,665
Liabilities
$21,987

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Charles Phillipson (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Jackie Gurwin (Executive Dir.): $38,520 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Foster innovation in teaching and learning within the walled lake consolidated school district.

What it reported doing in 2024

Support education within the walled lake consolidated school district by rewarding outstanding school programs and educators.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 72% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 70% of its reported program spending out as grants.

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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 45
  • Sustainability: 60
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 70.6%; rating input score 71
  • Program expense ratio: 82.4%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $21.33 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 59; 59th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 60%; rating input score 60; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 16.3%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.48; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 37.3%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.9% per year; rating input score 0; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.9% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 70.6% of revenue deployed · 82.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 15 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $85K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $39K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 59/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 33/100.