Kalamazoo County Defender Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
832165750
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2017
Location
Kalamazoo, MI, USA
Phone
2692505000
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Legal Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$11,273,215
Expenses
$10,113,145
Assets
$7,127,383
Liabilities
$2,401,111

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROBERT HILL MD (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MATTHEW WAIT (EXECUTIVE DI): $138,267 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Kalamazoo county defender, inc. (the organization) is a not-for-profit organization established to provide public defense services in kalamazoo county. The organization provides constitutionally guaranteed representation to citizens charged with a crime who cannot afford an attorney.

What it reported doing in 2024

The village is a multidiciplinary care hub that facilitates engagement with social services to help kalamazoo defender clients break down the systemic barriers to success. Social workers at the village identify the types of resources that will help clients confront those struggles and adopt approaches to mediate them.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 87% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 54
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.6%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 94.1%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 10.3%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.7; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.34; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.4%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 25.4% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 18.6% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.5% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.6% of revenue deployed · 94.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $9.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $138K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.