International Wildlife Refuge Alliance
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 203318708
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Trenton, MI, USA
- Phone
- 7343623735
- Rating
- 77
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Water Resource, Wetlands Conservation and Management
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $527,373
- Expenses
- $464,178
- Assets
- $670,036
- Liabilities
- $37,585
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- NICOLE LAFLEUR (EXECUTIVE DI): $56,000 total reported compensation
- MICHELLE SORENSEN (NATURE STORE): $14,695 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 international wildlife refuge foundation was created in 2005 to help foster conservation, increase refuge visibility, encourage support, and enhance quality of life. It is an alliance of organizations and individuals that builds the capacity of the us fish and wildlife service to deliver its mission for the detroit river international wildlife refuge (dwir). The alliance is a nonprofit organization that promotes community outreach, organizes educational and interpretive programs, undertakes habitat conservation and advocacy for the refuge, coordinates volunteers, organizes special events, and helps with fundraising.
What it reported doing in 2024
Programs include: state of the strait // memorials // detroit river hawk watch // wetland restoration // common tern // refuge gateway // fishing pier // marsh master maintenance // cooperative agreement 2. Projects represent the management and restoration of ecologically significant areas.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 78% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 70
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 82
- Sustainability: 55
- Growth: 40
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 65%; rating input score 65
- Program expense ratio: 73.8%; rating input score 74
- Fundraising efficiency: $61.8 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 57
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Limited
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 12%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.44; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 15.2%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -2.7% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 0.8% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 65% of revenue deployed · 73.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $342K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $56K · 12 people listed
- Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 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: 3 of 7 not reported.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 55/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.