Wisconsin Towns Association Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 820902012
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Shawano, WI, USA
- Phone
- 7155263157
- Rating
- 73
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Government and Public Administration
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,702,748
- Expenses
- $2,420,218
- Assets
- $5,219,442
- Liabilities
- $1,868,752
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
13 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- TOM WINKER (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- MICHAEL KOLES (EXECUTIVE DI): $250,599 total reported compensation
- STEVE DICKINSEN (DIRECTOR): $8,710 total reported compensation
- TOM WINKER (PRESIDENT): $8,128 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The organization's purpose is to organize and associate the towns and villages of the state of Wisconsin, by action of their governing units for the cooperative exercise of leadership and implementation of policies, practices, and strategies that advance the purpose of town and village government.
What it reported doing in 2024
The purpose of the Wisconsin towns association shall at all times be to operate on a not-for-profit basis and should promote the common good and general welfare ot the people of the community as a whole, by action of their governing units for the cooperative exercise of leadership and implementation of policies, practices, and strategies that advance the purpose of town and village government by providing educational information and training oppurtunites to all members, to promote and encourage municipal, county, state and federal legislation beneficial to town government and the general welfare of town government constituents, to assit all members in the self-development of skills.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 84% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 70
- Transparency & Controls: 73
- Accountability: 77
- Sustainability: 55
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 76.3%; rating input score 76
- Program expense ratio: 83.5%; rating input score 84
- Fundraising efficiency: $0 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 10.5%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.16; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.36; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 12.1%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 11.5% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 9.7% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 13.1% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 76.3% of revenue deployed · 83.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $251K · 13 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
- Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
- 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 0/100.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.