Wayne State University Research and Technology Park in the City of Detroit
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 412061387
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Detroit, MI, USA
- Phone
- 3138871639
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Economic Development
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $4,808,210
- Expenses
- $12,535,531
- Assets
- $20,872,657
- Liabilities
- $4,862,831
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
39 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- EDWARD STAEBLER (PRESIDENT & CEO)
- ALLANDRA J BULGER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CO.ACT)
Highest reported compensation
- KELLY KOZLOWSKI (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $237,755 total reported compensation
- EDWARD STAEBLER (PRESIDENT & CEO): $230,546 total reported compensation
- DIANA GOODE (CHIEF FINACIAL OFFICER): $221,768 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Techtown is detroit's entrepreneuership hub. We help tech startups and small businesses develop, launch, and grow. By opening doors to opportunity, we strengthen our city, neighborhoods, and economy.
What it reported doing in 2024
Technology-based entrepreneurship programming - start studio: idea-stage accelerator that validates early-stage tech startups through customer discovery.-incubator: an intense and dynamic program focused on helping promising tech startups make the transition into profitable companies. Via a cohort model, techtown will help founders strengthen their businesses in three key areas: business operations, technical operations and fundraising readiness.-technology commercialization: techtown evaluated and roadmaps the commercialization potential of university or health car system-developed technologies; high potential technologies transition into techtown programs.-traction: takes business move from product to purchase via a unique community of accountability that helps startups move from launching the first version of their product to generating recurring revenue.-capital access program: a series of training modules and cohort support that helps entrepreneurs understand the tech funding lanscape and access the funds needed to get their business off the ground.small business services-retail boot camp: prepares serious entrepreneurs with strong retail concepts for the successful launch of their brick-and-mortar business in a core detroit commercial district.-313 strong: combines economic development and start-up acceleration strategies to transform detroit's historically underserved neighborhoods into vibrant and dense communities.-programming resource support for non-profitsspace - real estate programming-office and lab space: commercial real estate for innovative detroit businesses.-co-working: co-working community offering detroit entrepreneurs an affordable, flexible and collaborative work environment.-meeting and event space: recently renovated first floor includes event space with seating up to 180; meeting, conference and training rooms; open, galley-style kitchen with cafe seating.backoffice support services for human resource and financial management.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 64% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 80% 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. 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: 84
- Transparency & Controls: 68
- Accountability: 89
- Sustainability: 23
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 74.8%; rating input score 75
- Fundraising efficiency: $8.17 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 20th 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: 70.6%; rating input score 71; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 96.7%; rating input score 97; 26th 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: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -160.7%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.67; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 14.3%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 17.9% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 74.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 29 of 30 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $9.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $238K · 39 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.7M reported
- Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 43 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 35 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 55/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 40/100.