Silent Observer
Legal name: Silent Observer of West Michigan
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 822884153
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2021–2025
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2020
- Location
- Grand Rapids, MI, United States
- Phone
- 616.774.2345
- Rating
- 61
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Fund Raising and Fund Distribution
- Affiliation
- Religious (unspecified)
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $102,098
- Expenses
- $133,793
- Assets
- $146,190
- Liabilities
- $30,695
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
15 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Alex Corbin (President)
- Hayley Strickland (Executive Director)
Highest reported compensation
- Hayley Strickland (Executive Director): $41,654 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Silent Observer is a non-profit organization dedicated to public safety and since 1972 has remained committed to its mission to solve and prevent serious crime in the Greater Grand Rapids area in partnership with citizens, the media, and law enforcement. How It Works Contact Silent Observer using one of the methods listed above. **You will never be asked your name.** Instead you will be given a special code number, called a tip number, and a password that is special only to you. Be sure to save your tip number and password because you will be able to log into your existing tip at p3tips.com to add more information, upload pictures, follow up on your tip and to answer any questions Silent Obs.
What it reported doing in 2025
The program consists of contrbutions from various funding sources used to reduce crime in the greater Grand Rapids area through a program of awards for anonymous information. In addition, funds are used to increase the lines of communication between local media and law enforcement agencies.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 87% 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: 40
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 79
- Sustainability: 18
- Growth: 20
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 48.9%; rating input score 49
- Program expense ratio: 37.3%; rating input score 37
- Fundraising efficiency: $1.44 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 7; 7th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -31%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.09; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.21; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: Limited
Growth
- Program expense growth: -6.6% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -5.2% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 11.1% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 48.9% of revenue deployed · 37.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $50K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $42K · 15 people listed
- Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 5 filing years from 2021 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 49/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 37/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 7/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 43/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 16/100.