Wisconsin Restaurant Association Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN: 390715690
IRS 990 coverage: 2013–2024
Forms available: Form 990 2024
Location: Madison, WI, USA
Phone: 6082709950
Rating confidence: Limited

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue: $1,930,671
Expenses: $2,098,061
Assets: $1,350,859
Liabilities: $1,173,276

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

Leadership & pay

35 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

KRISTINE HILLMER (PRESIDENT & CEO)
SUSAN QUAM (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

KRISTINE HILLMER (PRESIDENT & CEO): $218,226 total reported compensation
SUSAN QUAM (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT): $137,880 total reported compensation
DAWN FARIS (VP MEMBERSHIP & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT): $129,528 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To provide members the services and tools to be successful, through advocacy, education and communication. As an advocate, wra provides representation for the restaurant industry to create a favorable political and regulatory environment at all levels of government. Education includes providing access to information to improve restaurant operations and fostering a sense of community in the restaurant industry with opportunities for members to connect with and learn from each other. Wra communicates for the membership providing a voice for the restaurant industry to consumers and the media.

What it reported doing in 2024

Government relations - the government relations program was developed to review and recommend positions on legislative issues of interest to the food service industry and the association. The program also serves to maintain positive relationships with elected and appointed government officials and advise members on proposed legislation and existing laws. Government relations also include the restaurant advocacy fund, which develops funding and programs to educate the association membership, general public, legislature, and regulatory bodies on the association's public policy.

Operating model

Revenue model: Earned-program. 81% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model: Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
Transparency & Controls: 70
Accountability: 91
Sustainability: 20
Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

Mission deployment rate: Limited
Program expense ratio: Limited
Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 12th percentile among comparable filings
Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Pass
- 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: 65.2%; rating input score 65; 31st percentile among comparable filings
Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: -8.7%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.64; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.87; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
Officer compensation ratio: 23.1%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

Program expense growth: Limited
Revenue growth: -2.4% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
Asset growth: 0.2% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Details

Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
Governance: 32 of 32 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments
Leadership: top reported pay $218K · 35 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
Consistency: 14 of 15 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
Contacts: How to reach this organization
Money network: 4 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 — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 8/100.
High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.