Woodland Pattern Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
391332252
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Milwaukee, WI, USA
Phone
4142635001
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Printing, Publishing

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,922,957
Expenses
$1,217,585
Assets
$3,801,208
Liabilities
$704,722

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JENNIFER GROPP (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • LAURA SOLOMON (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • SAM PEKARSKE (PRESIDENT)
  • NAKEYSHA ROBERTS WASHINGTON (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • LAURA SOLOMON (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $92,793 total reported compensation
  • JENNIFER GROPP (CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $92,196 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Woodland pattern is dedicated to the discovery, cultivation, and presentation of poetry and the arts. Our goals are to promote a lifetime practice of reading and writing; to serve as a forum and resource center in our region; to encourage exchange across the visual, performing, and literary arts; and to act as a bridge between local and national communities of poets and other artists.

What it reported doing in 2025

Collaborations - earned income from contracts with other organizations

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 90% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 48
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 72
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 31.3%; rating input score 31
  • Program expense ratio: 73.6%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $16.22 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 52; 52nd 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: Limited
  • 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 58.3%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.12; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.2%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.2% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.2% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 31.3% of revenue deployed · 73.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $896K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $93K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 31/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 52/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 37/100.