Historical Society of Michigan

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
381452689
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Lansing, MI, USA
Phone
5173241828
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies & Historic Preservation

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,431,729
Expenses
$2,104,862
Assets
$4,899,421
Liabilities
$519,963

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

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Richard Wiener (President)
  • Chuck Stokes (Vice President)
  • Larry J Wagenaar (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Larry J Wagenaar (Executive Director): $165,372 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Historical Society of Michigan will foster in citizens a deeper understanding of and appreciation for all Michigan history through programs and publications; preserve and promote Michigan history through conferences, publications, awards, educational programs, consulting services and related historical activities; coordinate and further the program of local historical societies and local historians by functioning as a statewide service organization and communication network; cooperate with appropriate individuals on a local, state and national level and/or with organizations and institutions in projects and activities that will promote and sustain interest in history; enhance public support for the preservation and protection of Michigan history.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Historical Society of Michigan provided publications including 2 magazines and a scholarly journal focusing on Michigan history. They include the largest state history magazine in the country, Michigan History, which has a circulation of 16,000 and over 100,000 readers; the chronicle, a four color member's magazine that features history features, news, calendar of events, and more; and also distributes the Michigan Historical Review, an academic journal focused on Michigan and Great Lakes history. The Historical Society of Michigan occasionally does other publications such as the Historical Michigan Travel Guide, Michigan History Directory, and Michigan History for Kids Curriculum.

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 97% 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 reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 81
  • Sustainability: 63
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.9%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 81.7%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $29.44 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 95.5%; rating input score 95; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 13.4%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.33; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.9%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.9% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 71.9% of revenue deployed · 81.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 22 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $165K · 27 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 38/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 57/100.