Michigan Christian Study Center
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 921220400
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2023–2025
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2022
- Location
- Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Phone
- 6166179800
- Rating
- 67
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Student Services, Organizations of Students
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $238,483
- Expenses
- $261,054
- Assets
- $2,224,984
- Liabilities
- $1,046,257
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
7 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Richard Ostrander (Executive Director)
People named in this filing
- Richard Ostrander (Executive Director)
- Barton Bryant (Treasurer)
- Elizabeth Faremouth (Secretary)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To enrich the University of Michigan by providing a place of authentic community that connects Christian faith and academic life.
What it reported doing in 2025
We provide a place of Christian hospitality for students and faculty at the University, sponsoring a variety of activities, including social gatherings, book clubs, academic courses, faculty forums and public lectures. In the 6 months ended 6-30-25, we hosted our Friday lunches serving 1,000 lunches and hearing 14 speakers. We hosted 7 public events with more than 300 attendees. We held four faculty events and hosted thirty students in discussion groups and classes. In addition, we recorded an average of 300 student visits per week to use the space for studying and socializing.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 98% 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 a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 52
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 68
- Sustainability: 44
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 57.6%; rating input score 58
- Program expense ratio: 51.8%; rating input score 52
- Fundraising efficiency: $5.71 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -9.5%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.52; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.47; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 50.7% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -2% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 64.2% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 57.6% of revenue deployed · 51.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $135K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
- Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 3 filing years from 2023 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 58/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 52/100.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 19/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 9/100.