Heart of the Lakes Ctr for Land Cons
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 030548515
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Bay City, MI, USA
- Phone
- 9897379543
- Rating
- 75
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Water Resource, Wetlands Conservation and Management
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $264,989
- Expenses
- $319,955
- Assets
- $135,649
- Liabilities
- $24,358
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
13 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Ryan Postema (Vice President)
- Ginny Leikman (President)
Highest reported compensation
- Jonathan Jarosz (Executive Dir.): $89,134 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Heart of the Lakes provides technical assistance, leadership training, and strategic communication tools that help organizations thrive - from grassroots land conservancies to larger regional conservation groups. Programs such as peer learning cohorts, mentorship opportunities, and shared resource libraries ensure that staff and boards are equipped to address emerging challenges like climate resilience, community engagement, and justice in conservation. Heart of the Lakes also leads storytelling and public awareness efforts that elevate the profile of conservation in Michigan. Through digital campaigns, publications, and earned media, it promotes the importance of land protection and outdoor access, often highlighting the real-world impact of its partners. These efforts help bridge the gap between policy, practice, and public support -- cultivating a conservation movement that is as effective as it is inclusive.
What it reported doing in 2024
Advocacy & Legal Engagement: Collaborated on a successful amicus brief in support of an easement violation case in Acme Township. Policy Engagement: Participated in Michigan Recreation & Parks Association's Capitol advocacy day and conference, championing urban open spaces. Federal -Level Advocacy: Joined Outdoor Industry Association events in D.C., engaging on topics like Farm Bill, Climate Corps, and equitable outdoor access. Awareness & Fundraising: Partnered with Boxed Water and Populace Coffee to promote conservation through branded fundraising bundles. Urban Restoration Efforts: Supported green space improvements in Detroit's Poletown East, coordinating with Detroit Parks Coalition and Detroit Future City. Conservation Summit Engagement: Hosted and contributed to the Michigan Outdoor Summit, addressing the outdoor economy, inclusivity, and future ecosystem investments. Monitoring Outcomes: Released its Michigan Protected Lands Survey, documenting protection of over 806,560 acres statewide.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- 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: 82
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 70
- Sustainability: 17
- Growth: 0
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 99.5%; rating input score 99
- Program expense ratio: 82.4%; rating input score 82
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
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: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- 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: -20.7%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.42; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 27.9%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -0.2% per year; rating input score 0; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -1.1% per year; rating input score 0; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -1.9% per year; rating input score 0; 18th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 99.5% of revenue deployed · 82.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 12 of 13 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $264K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $89K · 13 people listed
- Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 21/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 21/100.