Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
200079065
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2017, Form 990-N 2016
Location
Bayfield, WI, USA
Phone
7154496900
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$771,657
Expenses
$525,471
Assets
$910,637
Liabilities
$9,446

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JEFF RENNICKE (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • JILL RENNICKE (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • JEFF RENNICKE (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $48,114 total reported compensation
  • JILL RENNICKE (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $32,081 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

A nonprofit dedicated to the support and protection of te apostle islands national lakeshore.

What it reported doing in 2024

- successful completion of the largest capital campaign in our organization's history to provide an accessible ramp to meyer's beach and the apostle islands sea caves.- reached the landmark of having donated over $1 million supporting the apostle island national lakeshore.- completed the second season increasing safety for those on the water via the wave watch program with over 30,000 visits to the wave data page. The buoys in the lake provide realtime information on wave height, wind, and temperature for boaters and kayakers and other who are on the water,- received the "bright idea" award from the Wisconsin governor's conference on tourism.- promoted the starry skies program to raise awareness of the beauty of the night sky over the apostle islands and the need for communities in the chequamegon bay area to work together to protect that resource.- established the access opportunity fund to support outdoor adventures in the apostle islands for people with disabilities.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 85% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 88
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 68
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 61.6%; rating input score 62
  • Program expense ratio: 88.6%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $41.63 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 95.6%; rating input score 96; 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 31.9%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.73; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.3%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 42.8% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16.2% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.8% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 61.6% of revenue deployed · 88.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $466K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $48K · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 27 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.