Launch Michigan

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
920358917
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2022
Location
Lansing, MI, USA
Phone
2488770001
Rating
64
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,605,717
Expenses
$1,041,586
Assets
$672,177
Liabilities
$59,425

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR VENESSA KEESLER (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR VENESSA KEESLER (PRESIDENT & CEO): $284,313 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Launch Michigan is a cross-partisan, nonprofit organization that includes education, business, labor and philanthropic leaders working together to reimagine Michigan's system of public education to prepare every child for success after high school.

What it reported doing in 2024

Launch Michigan is guided by our framework for transformation. It is a roadmap for reinventing Michigan's public education system. The launch Michigan framework includes three key pillars: 1.) reinvention: create a top-performing education system for Michigan and will unlock a college and career readiness standard in a way that revolutionizes education in Michigan and provides innovative solutions for all students at all levels. 2.) responsibility: a realigned and redefined system of governance & accountability to redesign an education system that promotes transparency and aligns our state's government structure more cohesively and effectively and has all students in mind. And 3.) resources: increased investment in public education and will invest in our students in a way that addresses their every need, at every level, supporting and promoting growth and prosperity in their future and for the future of Michigan's economy.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 45
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 38.9%; rating input score 39
  • Program expense ratio: 60%; rating input score 60
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.68 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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: 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: Fail
    • 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: 35.1%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.65; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 27.3%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 78.5% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 97.9% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 145.8% per year; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 38.9% of revenue deployed · 60% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $625K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $284K · 14 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $121K reported
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 39/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 33/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: CEO compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.