Releaf Michigan Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
382912028
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2013
Location
Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Phone
8006427353
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Forest Conservation

Reported finances

Revenue
$266,223
Expenses
$367,862
Assets
$127,028
Liabilities
$50,937

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • WILLIAM LAWRENCE (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MELINDA JONES (BOARD MBR/EX): $35,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To educate the residents of Michigan on the need to properly select, plant and maintain trees. This is accomplished by working with communities and schools on tree related projects, planting trees on public property with volunteers, and providing educational presentations, workshops and materials related to trees.

What it reported doing in 2024

Releaf Michigan collaborates with communities to plant trees with volunteers on public property. Seedlings are distributed to students. Educational presentations were held throughout the year covering a variety of topics including the value of the urban tree canopy.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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

STRONG - 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 64
  • Sustainability: 14
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 74.1%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.47 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 45; 45th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -38.2%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.35; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.4; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.5%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.7% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.4% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 21.6% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 74.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $273K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $35K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 45/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.