United Way of Washtenaw County

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
381951024
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Phone
3132269423
Rating
59
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Federated Giving Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$571,137
Expenses
$685,598
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PAMELA SMITH (CEO/PRESIDEN)

Highest reported compensation

  • PAMELA SMITH (CEO/PRESIDEN): $137,112 total reported compensation
  • VALERIE KENNINGS (CFO): $45,516 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To connect people, organizations, and resources together to create a thriving community for everyone.

What it reported doing in 2023

Financial stability: manage a national tax program, vita (volunteer income tax assistance) under IRS guidance to provide free tax preparation for taxpayers making 54,000 or less. Train and certify volunteers to comply with tax regulations and ethics who will work one-on-one with eligible taxpayers to provide tax preparation and filing services for both federal and state returns. Special focus is on helping taxpayers obtain refundable credits such as the eitc and state of Michigan home heating and property tax credits. The vita program was able to serve clients in person, a scan and go service, and 100% virtual. A combination of these allowed for an increase in the number of returns. Total number of federal returns prepared was 717 with the help of a pool of 35 fully certified and experienced volunteers. Financial coaching provides free one-on-one support that builds and sustains foundation level asset building for individuals and families while connecting them to other human and financial service offerings. The only requirement for receipt of services is a desire to become more financially stable.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 91% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 63% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 63
  • Transparency & Controls: 89
  • Accountability: 32
  • Sustainability: 6
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.1%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 60.4%; rating input score 60
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.41 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 92.8%; rating input score 93; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: Limited
  • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -20%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 26.6%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -8.4% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3.9% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -4.1% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 74.1% of revenue deployed · 60.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $414K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $137K · 22 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 26 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2009 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.