The Fowler Center Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
381660720
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2020
Forms available
Form 990 2020
Location
Kalamazoo, MI, USA
Phone
3135959583
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Camps

Reported finances

Revenue
$256,590
Expenses
$270,335
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Renee Deroche (Executive Director)
  • Megan Barton (Vice-President)
  • C Kenneth Perry Jr JD (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Lynn Seeloff (Camp Director): $30,325 total reported compensation
  • Renee Deroche (Executive Director): $21,449 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To prrovide a camping experience for those with mental and physical limitations.

What it reported doing in 2020

To provide a camping experience for those with mental and physical limitations.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 75% 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 - 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 68
  • Sustainability: 15
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85.8%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 81.3%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $105.29 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 2 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 22
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -5.4%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.2%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -9.7% per year; rating input score 0; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -4.1% per year; rating input score 0; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -4.3% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 85.8% of revenue deployed · 81.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 2 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $220K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $30K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2009 to 2020
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 26/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.