Synod Community Services

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
382664541
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2022
Forms available
Form 990 2022
Location
Ypsilanti, MI, USA
Phone
7344839363
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Group Homes

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,068,354
Expenses
$5,780,381
Assets
$4,100,810
Liabilities
$457,714

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STEVEN HOLDA (PRESIDENT)
  • KEN ANTKOWIAK (VICE PRESIDENT/SECRETARY)
  • KETA COWAN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER THRU 9-15-22)

Highest reported compensation

  • KETA COWAN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER THRU 9-15-22): $202,513 total reported compensation
  • PAMELA BELL (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $98,880 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Synod community services works with vulnerable and marginalized individuals to help them overcome the daily challenges presented by community life.

What it reported doing in 2022

Last year, synod opened up the world for 272 individuals whose severe and persistent mental illness has prevented them from living safely or interacting meaningfully in their communities. To ensure that our world with its wealth of cultural benefits can be accessed equitably by those with a disability, synod provided 20,107 days of specialized housing enriched with mental health supports in 11 shared homes and delivered 17,658 hours of independent staff services to those with mental illness living on their own.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 100% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 78
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.9%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 85.3%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4.7%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.71; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.2%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.4% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.2% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.9% of revenue deployed · 85.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $203K · 8 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $200K reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 27 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2009 to 2022
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 49/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 59/100.