Leslie Science and Nature Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
383497426
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2020
Forms available
Form 990 2020
Location
Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Phone
7349971075
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$424,027
Expenses
$431,319
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • SUSAN WESTHOFF (EXECUTIVE DI): $82,644 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Leslie science and nature center creates moments of discovery that inspire curiosity, exploration, and respect for stem and the natural world. Together with the ann arbor hands-on museum, we envision a world where curiosity today leads to more purposeful lives tomorrow.

What it reported doing in 2020

Camps: week long nature related day camps are offered for children ages 5- 13. Children hike through our woods, sweep the prairie for insects, play nature games in the field, marvel at the animals in the critter house or in the raptor enclosures, canoe in the huron river, and simply enjoy the great outdoors. Camps are offered all summer, on school breaks, and days off throughout the year. Lsnc solicits scholarship support from foundations and individuals and provides scholarships. Additionally, lsnc engages high school students as volunteers in our summer camp program. These volunteers are often alumni of our camp program. In addition, we offered camp-at-home with virtual lessons and at-home activity kits for those needing to experience camp remotely.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 78% 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 a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 20
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.3%; rating input score 71
  • Program expense ratio: 70.5%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.57 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th 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: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1.7%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.5%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.7% per year; rating input score 0; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.5% per year; rating input score 0; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2% per year; rating input score 0; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 71.3% of revenue deployed · 70.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $304K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $83K · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2011 to 2020
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 19/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 31/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.