Wisconsin Literacy Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
391628898
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Madison, WI, USA
Phone
6082571655
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,250,668
Expenses
$4,189,926
Assets
$1,216,174
Liabilities
$1,044,193

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JACOB GORGES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • MICHELE ERIKSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (THRU MAR 2024))

Highest reported compensation

  • JACOB GORGES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $88,266 total reported compensation
  • GREG PITTS (CONTROLLER (THRU JAN 2025)): $85,952 total reported compensation
  • MICHELE ERIKSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (THRU MAR 2024)): $34,890 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Changing lives by strengthening literacy statewide.

What it reported doing in 2024

Literacy services - through its madison-based office and network of regional consultants, the organization strengthens adult and family literacy across 77.7% of Wisconsin counties by supporting 85 member agencies with professional development, resources, and capacity-building reaching over 14,402 learners and, through its Wisconsin health literacy division, provides community-centered health education and provider training focused on clear, patient-centered communication.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 95% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 55% for direct work, and 45% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 96
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.1%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 88.4%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $342.91 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.3%; rating input score 99; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.4%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.29; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.86; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 24% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 22.3% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.2% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.1% of revenue deployed · 88.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 15 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $88K · 17 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 26 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 22 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 19 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 39/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 9/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 9/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 53/100.