United Way of Southwest Michigan
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 381358411
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- St Joseph, MI, USA
- Phone
- 2699821700
- Rating
- 74
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Federated Giving Programs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,489,465
- Expenses
- $3,863,357
- Assets
- $3,619,438
- Liabilities
- $1,063,831
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
18 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ANNA MURPHY (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- ANNA MURPHY (PRESIDENT): $161,201 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
United way of southwest Michigan works in berrien, cass, and van buren counties to create a united and resilient community where everyone contributes, belongs, and thrives.
What it reported doing in 2025
United way of southwest Michigan provided funding to 64 programs at 47 organizations that serve berrien, cass, and van buren counties. United way of southwest Michigan is creating impact through investments in the areas of financial security, healthy community, youth opportunity, and community resiliency. In the final year of the most recent funding cycle, united way of southwest Michigan funding helped area agencies receive more than $1,200,000 in leveraged funds and impacted more than 179,000 individuals. The organization also mobilized 2,397 volunteers who contributed 14,750 hours of their time; a total value of $513,152.50.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 45% for direct work, 54% for grants, and 1% for affiliated organizations.
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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 71
- Transparency & Controls: 71
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 24
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 81.2%; rating input score 81
- Program expense ratio: 71.1%; rating input score 71
- Fundraising efficiency: $6.03 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
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: 99.7%; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- 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: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -10.7%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.94; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.29; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 4.2%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -0.9% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 81.2% of revenue deployed · 71.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $161K · 18 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 47 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 46 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 19/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 32/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 27/100.