Making It Happen Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
383609015
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2022, Form 990-T 2023
Location
Royal Oak, MI, USA
Phone
3137825402
Rating
58
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Performing Arts Centers

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$143,214
Expenses
$460,313
Assets
$1,710,181
Liabilities
$1,691,051

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CHETRICE GILLON (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • CHETRICE GILLON (President): $150,600 total reported compensation
  • MARGO WALKER (Director): $45,978 total reported compensation
  • XAVIER E GILLON Jr (Treasurer): $38,136 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Making It Happen Foundation creates opportunities for youth and young adults to develop highly marketable skills in desirable and opportunity-laden media and entertainment industries.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 100% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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

MIXED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 55
  • Accountability: 0
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 15th 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 0 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -221.4%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.72; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.99; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 51%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 51.6% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 23.6% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 40.5% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 3 board members independent · 0 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $460K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $151K · 3 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2023 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 8 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.