Michigan Water Environment Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
382160283
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2025
Location
Lansing, MI, USA
Phone
5176417377
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Professional Societies, Associations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,422,853
Expenses
$1,439,898
Assets
$1,083,370
Liabilities
$488,272

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAVE CONNERS (PAST PRESIDENT (ENDED 06/25))
  • DOUG ENGELSMAN (ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR/VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ERICA MORGAN (VP/PRESIDENT ELECT)
  • MAJID KHAN (PRESIDENT ELECT/PRESIDENT)
  • MARK EARL (PRESIDENT/PAST PRESIDENT)
  • CHERYL VOSBURG (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • CHERYL VOSBURG (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $113,567 total reported compensation
  • DAVE CONNERS (PAST PRESIDENT (ENDED 06/25)): $5,200 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Be and create stewards for the water environment of Michigan. Provide high quality education for Michigan's water professionals. Educate and inform policy makers and the general public. Promote scientifically sound environmental practices and regulation.

What it reported doing in 2025

The continuing education provided to our dues paying members and non-members is a process involving various education classes, seminars, conferences and workshops throughout the year. We host over 100 classes specific to wastewater education. Those classes have educational workbooks that follow the same curriculum and are taught by one of our training program instructors. All other events feature speakers that focus on various water sector issues and emerging trends. Since the association is a statewide organization, there are local sections of the association that conduct activities related to water sector issues in their local area as well. All these activities generate a variety of revenue that are all used for the association's exempt purpose.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 73% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 29
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.9%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 77.7%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1.2%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.75; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.45; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.2%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.9% of revenue deployed · 77.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $114K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 27/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 35/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 13/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 42/100.