Wisconsin Alliance for Reform Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
474055920
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Waunakee, WI, USA
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,112,867
Expenses
$1,418,131
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Randy Melchert (President)

People named in this filing

  • Randy Melchert (President)
  • Eric O'Keefe (Treasurer)
  • Kim Gorden (Director)

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 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Informing and educating Wisconsin citizens about public policies that promote strong families, create jobs and economic opportunity, limit government, reduce the tax burden on citizens and provide safe communities for every Wisconsin family. Promote the advancement and implementation of policies by federal, state and local officials to carry out these goals by mobilizing Wisconsinites that share our vision for smaller government, lower taxes and expanded personal freedoms.

What it reported doing in 2023

Wisconsin Alliance for Reform is a coalition of concerned citizens and community leaders committed to creating greater economic opportunities for Wisconsin families. Our focus is aimed at informing and educating Wisconsin citizens about public policies that promote strong families, create jobs and economic opportunity, limit government, reduce the tax burden on citizens and provide safe communities for every Wisconsin family. The Wisconsin Alliance for Reform will promote the advancement and implementation of policies by federal, state and local officials to carry out these goals by mobilizing Wisconsinites that share our vision for smaller government, lower taxes and expanded personal freedoms.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 49% for direct work, and 51% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 64
  • Sustainability: 13
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th 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: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -27.4%; rating input score 7; 7th 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: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -4.1% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -5.5% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 16 of 16 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2015 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 0/100.