Wisconsin Environment

Legal name: Wisconsin Environment Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
208727611
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2014
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2014, Form 990-EZ 2009
Location
Madison, WI, USA
Phone
6082511918
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Environmental Quality, Protection, and Beautification N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$362,115
Expenses
$404,788
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2014. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Dan Kohler (President)

People named in this filing

  • Dan Kohler (President)
  • Steven Biel (Director)
  • Meshawn Ayala (Secretary)

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 2014. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Wisconsin Environment has one mission: to protect the natural world.

What it reported doing in 2014

Researching and influencing public policy - Staff engages in legislative activities including research, education, legal and policy development on the following issues: Global warming solutions, protecting our rivers and streams by strengthening the Clean Water Act and promoting renewable energy.

Operating model

Revenue model
Membership-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from membership dues.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 66% for direct work, and 34% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 18
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.3%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 72.7%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.52 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

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; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -11.8%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -10.4% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 12 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 81.3% of revenue deployed · 72.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $294K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $289K reported
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2011 to 2014
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 16/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 19/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.