Michigan Advocacy Program

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
381845444
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2023
Location
Ypsilanti, MI, US
Phone
(734) 714-3211 Ext. 111
Rating
89
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Legal Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$27,632,190
Expenses
$26,266,147
Assets
$18,940,496
Liabilities
$5,018,359

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

Leadership & pay

31 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Shannon Lucas (Executive Director - MAP)

Highest reported compensation

  • Lorray Brown (Co- Ex. Dir. - MSAS): $189,355 total reported compensation
  • Christine Robison (CFO): $157,462 total reported compensation
  • Shannon Lucas (Executive Director - MAP): $147,113 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Through direct legal help and statewide advocacy, the Michigan Advocacy Program provides access to the justice system for those who need it the most.

What it reported doing in 2024

In 2024, MAP (miadvocacy.org) handled 15,535 cases and helped 42,359 people. This includes helping 21,210 people through our local field offices (Legal Services of South Central Michigan; lsscm.org) with civil legal issues such as family law, evictions and other housing related matters, expungement, income protection, and access to healthcare. Through our statewide programs (Michigan Statewide Advocacy Services; michigansas.org), we responded to 981 support requests (training, case consultant and/or research); we conducted 22 task force meetings reaching 740 people; the Michigan Legal Help website had 3.2 million pageviews and helped people complete 157,046 legal forms.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 89
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.7%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 89%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $170.52 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: 4.9%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.72; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.2%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.5% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 8 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 84.7% of revenue deployed · 89% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $23.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $189K · 31 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • 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.

  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 53/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 49/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 50/100.