Zeeland Education Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
821829249
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2016
Location
Zeeland, MI, USA
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Reported finances

Revenue
$511,011
Expenses
$162,403
Assets
$2,954,338
Liabilities
$1,466

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BOB BISHOP (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • LISA GHIARDI (EXECUTIVE DI): $30,000 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 goal is to raise private funds to enhance academic excellence for all students of zeeland public schools.

What it reported doing in 2024

The purpose of the zeeland education foundation (zef) is to enhance the academic excellence of zeeland public schools by providing funding for academic educational resources that promote scholastic achievement and extraordinary learning opportunities. Zef uses funds raised to provide grants to benefit zeeland public schools. The grants are made directly to the zeeland public school district for academic resources submitted to the zef by the district. Grants are made for academic tools and school and classroom resources.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 66% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

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 a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 38
  • Transparency & Controls: 93
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 85
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 34%; rating input score 34
  • Program expense ratio: 57.2%; rating input score 57
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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; 76th 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: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 68.2%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 18.19; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 18.5%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.3% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 34% of revenue deployed · 57.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $93K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $30K · 18 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 34/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 57/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.