Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design

Legal name: Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
391201561
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Milwaukee, WI, US
Phone
888-749-MIAD
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$40,151,711
Expenses
$39,436,332
Assets
$28,218,767
Liabilities
$7,796,792

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

Leadership & pay

33 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JEFFREY MORIN (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • JEFFREY MORIN (PRESIDENT): $320,552 total reported compensation
  • DEIDRE ERWIN (VP FINANCIAL AFFAIRS): $195,934 total reported compensation
  • TRACY MILKOWSKI (VP INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT): $187,242 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

MIAD: where passion finds purpose.

What it reported doing in 2024

As Wisconsin's only four-year, nonprofit college of art and design, the milwaukee institute of art & design (miad) was founded in 1974 and offers a bachelor of fine arts degree accredited by the higher learning commission and the national association of schools of art and design. The college enrolls approximately 850 students in seven majors: communication design, fashion and apparel design, fine art + new studio practice, illustration (general and animation track), interior architecture and design and product design. Miad engages all students in a service learning program with 200+ nonprofit partners and the college connects students to industry leaders and hands-on opportunities in their field through the miad lubar innovation center and sponsored curriculum projects. Miad's living room, community closet and people's pantry support our student body with the resources they need to thrive. Several of miad's design and screen-based majors rank among the top programs nationally and regionally. Graphic design USA named miad a top design school in 2024, and animation career review ranked miad's communication design major the top program in Wisconsin in 2024. It ranks among the top 15 in the midwest, and the top 25 private colleges offering the bfa in graphic design nationally. Similarly, miad's illustration major was named by animation career review in the top 5 in the midwest in 2025. Miad's animation track, a sibling program to illustration, was named the top program in Wisconsin by animation career review in 2025. Animation track in illustration furthers the reach of graduates in the industry.in addition to bachelor's degree programs, miad brings robust career pathways and college-readiness experiences and internships to high school youth, and offers cultural experiences and programming to the greater milwaukee community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 93% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 45% for direct work, and 55% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.9%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 85.7%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.42 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.8%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.72; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.28; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.6%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 20th 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: 83.9% of revenue deployed · 85.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 28 of 28 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $33.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $321K · 33 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $1.4M reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 17/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 41/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.