The Jefferson Project
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 883907297
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2025–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2024
- Location
- Bay City, MI, USA
- Phone
- 9892392113
- Rating
- 59
- Verdict
- MIXED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Public, Society Benefit N.E.C.
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $248,022
- Expenses
- $26,105
- Assets
- $660,387
- Liabilities
- $362,736
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
7 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- AVRAM GOLDEN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
People named in this filing
- AMY POBANZ (DIRECTOR)
- MICHAEL TURNER (DIRECTOR)
- SARA CLARK (SECRETARY)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
We are a community for all to create together. Through placemaking, public art, and community centered design, we shape spaces where people gather, create and connect.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 98% 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: 23
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 88
- Sustainability: 84
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 3.8%; rating input score 4
- Program expense ratio: 36.1%; rating input score 36
- Fundraising efficiency: $73.5 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 80; 80th 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: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- 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: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 89.5%; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 25.3; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.55; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- Where the money goes: 3.8% of revenue deployed · 36.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $9K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
- Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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 4/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 36/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 8/100.