Traverse Connect

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
472891252
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Traverse City, MI, USA
Phone
2319475075
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Chambers of Commerce & Business Leagues

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,472,733
Expenses
$3,394,395
Assets
$2,894,664
Liabilities
$1,259,714

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

29 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • WARREN CALL (PRESIDENT/CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • WARREN CALL (PRESIDENT/CEO): $271,402 total reported compensation
  • AMANDA SENTIERI (CFO): $140,607 total reported compensation
  • BRENDA MCLELLAN (VP INVESTOR ENGAGMENT): $118,925 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Advance economic vitality of the grand traverse region through growth of family-sustaining careers.

What it reported doing in 2025

Traverse connect investors support the organizations efforts to create a unified regional strategy for economic and community development, grow and attract second stage businesses, and develop and attract a talented workforce. The organization served approximately 950 members throughout the year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 68% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. 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: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 29
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 95.7%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 97.9%; rating input score 98
  • 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2.3%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.85; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.44; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.6%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 16% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 23% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 95.7% of revenue deployed · 97.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 26 of 26 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $3.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $271K · 29 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $564K reported
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2016 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.