Southwestern Michigan College Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
381943374
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Dowagiac, MI, USA
Phone
2697821302
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)

Reported finances

Revenue
$961,816
Expenses
$756,774
Assets
$17,597,544
Liabilities
$701,680

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

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MIKE O'BRIEN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - PART YEAR)
  • EMILY SCHROCK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • DR CAROLE SCHMIDT (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR JOSEPH ODENWALD (SECRETARY - PART YEAR): $336,730 total reported compensation
  • MIKE O'BRIEN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - PART YEAR): $138,929 total reported compensation
  • MICHELLE L KITE (TREASURER): $118,943 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The foundation operates for charitable purposes to promote, establish, conduct, maintain, and operate educational and scientific activities in conjunction with southwestern Michigan college.

What it reported doing in 2024

To provide scholarships to students attending southwestern Michigan college and to maintain and improve southwestern Michigan college's facilities and campus to support student success.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 64
  • Sustainability: 73
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 93%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 21.3%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 23.25; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 26.2%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.9% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -5.6% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 93% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 21 board members independent · 3 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $704K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $337K · 24 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.