Sleeping Bear Forever
Legal name: Sleeping Bear Forever DBA Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 383486616
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2023–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2022
- Location
- Maple City, Michigan, USA
- Phone
- (231) 640-0148
- Rating
- 55
- Verdict
- MIXED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Natural Resources Conservation and Protection
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $245,682
- Expenses
- $177,951
- Assets
- $317,013
- Liabilities
- $2,610
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Susan Pocklington (Executive Director)
Highest reported compensation
- Susan Pocklington (Executive Director): $43,846 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Preserving some of America's most significant landscapes
What it reported doing in 2024
Program Service 1 Preservation - Implemented preservation projects of historic buildings and landscapes in the national park; removed invasive vegetation to restore farm fields; funded preservation of antique orchards; conducted window restoration workshops Repairs are accomplished by volunteer labor, donations to fund materials and equipment, and contractors with specialized skills.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 91% 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
MIXED - 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: 15
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 79
- Sustainability: 61
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 15.4%; rating input score 15
- Program expense ratio: 18.8%; rating input score 19
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
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: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- 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: 27.6%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.78; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 24.6%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -85.1% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7.5% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 13.9% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 7 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 5 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 15.4% of revenue deployed · 18.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $33K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $44K · 11 people listed
- Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
- 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 15/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 19/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 56/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 47/100.