United Way of Southwest Michigan

99%

Impact & Measurement

Accountability & Finance

Culture & Community

Leadership & Adaptability

United Way of Southwest Michigan

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501(c)(3) organization

Donations are tax-deductible

http://www.uwsm.org/

2015 Lakeview Avenue

Saint Joseph MI 49085

269-982-1700

Saint Joseph MI | IRS ruling year: 1945 | EIN: 38-1358411

An EIN is a unique nine-digit number that identifies a business for tax purposes.

Organization Mission

United Way of Southwest Michigan works to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities.

Rating Information

Great

This charity's score is 99%, earning it a Four-Star rating. If this organization aligns with your passions and values, you can give with confidence.

This overall score is calculated from multiple beacon scores, weighted as follows: 42% Accountability & Finance, 53% Impact & Measurement, 5% Culture & Community. Learn more about our criteria and methodology.

Historical Ratings

Charity Navigator's ratings previously did not consider Leadership & Adaptability, Culture & Community, or Impact & Measurement. The historic rating mainly reflects a version of today’s Accountability and Finance score. More information on our previous rating methodologies can be found on our rating methodology page.

Date Published	Overall Rating
11/1/2022
5/1/2022
This organization received multiple star ratings within this fiscal year, due to an update to its Accountability and Transparency data and/or the receipt of an amended Form 990.
11/1/2021
4/1/2021
11/1/2019
12/1/2018
3/1/2018
4/1/2017
10/1/2016
6/1/2016
12/22/2015
7/1/2015
12/1/2014
8/1/2014

Accountability & Finance

Score

97

Most Recent Fiscal Year:
FY 2023

This beacon provides an assessment of a charity's financial health (financial efficiency, sustainability, and trustworthiness) and its commitment to governance practices and policies.

Learn more

Key Accountability Metrics

Full Credit

Partial Credit

No Credit

Majority Independent Board Members - 100% independent members

10 out of 10 points

Source: IRS Form 990

Independent Board Size - 14 independent members

10 out of 10 points

Industry professionals strongly recommend an independent governing body to allow for full deliberation and diversity of thinking on governance and other organizational matters. For most organizations, we check to see if the organization has at least three independent board members. For large, donor-funded organizations, we check to see if the organization has at least five independent board members

Source: IRS Form 990

Financial Statements - Audit and Oversight Committee

20 out of 20 points

An Audit, Review, or Compilation provides important information about financial accountability and accuracy. Organizations are scored based on their Total Revenue Amount:

Total Revenue Amount	Expectation to Receive Credit
$2 million or higher and 40% or higher donor support	Expected to complete an audit and have an audit oversight committee
$1 million or higher	Expected to complete an audit
$500,000 - $1 million	Expected to complete an audit, review, or compilation
Less than $500,000	No expectation (removed from scoring methodology)

Source: IRS Form 990

Material Diversion of Assets - None

20 out of 20 points

A diversion of assets — any unauthorized conversion or use of the organization's assets other than for the organization's authorized purposes, including but not limited to embezzlement or theft — also can seriously call into question a charity's financial integrity. We review the charity's most recent IRS Form 990 to see if the charity has reported any diversion of assets.

Source: IRS Form 990

Tax Form Disclosures and Policies

Full Credit

Partial Credit

No Credit

Website Listed on Tax Form - Listed

5 out of 5 points

Charity Navigator looks for a website on the IRS Form 990 as an accountability and transparency metric.

Nonprofits act in the public trust and reporting publicly on activities is an important component.

Source: IRS Form 990

Conflict of Interest Policy - Listed

5 out of 5 points

Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a conflict of interest policy on the IRS Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.

This policy protects the organization and by extension those it serves, when it is considering entering into a transaction that may benefit the private interest of an officer, director and/or key employee of the organization.

Source: IRS Form 990

Whistleblower Policy - Listed

5 out of 5 points

Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a whistleblower policy per the IRS Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.

This policy outlines procedures for handling employee complaints, as well as a confidential way for employees to report financial or other types of mismanagement.

Source: IRS Form 990

Document Retention and Destruction - Listed

5 out of 5 points

Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a document retention and destruction policy per the IRS Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.

This policy establishes guidelines for the handling, backing up, archiving and destruction of documents. These guidelines foster good record keeping procedures that promote data integrity.

Source: IRS Form 990

Documents Board Meeting Minutes - Yes

5 out of 5 points

Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the IRS Form 990 that the organization has this process in place as an accountability and transparency measure.

An official record of the events that take place during a board meeting ensures that a contemporaneous document exists for future reference.

Source: IRS Form 990

Tax Form Distributed to Board Before Filing - Missing

0 out of 5 points

Providing copies of the IRS Form 990 to the governing body prior to filing is considered a best practice, as it allows for thorough review by the individuals charged with overseeing the organization. The Form 990 asks the charity to disclose whether or not it has followed this best practice.

Loans to/from Officers - None

5 out of 5 points

Making loans to related parties, such as key officers, staff, or Board members, is not standard practice in the sector as it diverts the charity's funds away from its charitable mission and can lead to real and perceived conflict-of-interest problems.

The IRS requires charities to disclose on their Form 990 any loans to or from current and former officers, directors, trustees, key employees, and other "disqualified persons." Some state laws go so far as to prohibit loans to board members and officers.

Although employees and trustees are permitted to make loans to charities, this practice can also result in real and/or perceived conflict of interest problems for the charity. Furthermore, it is problematic because it indicates that the organization is not financially secure. Our analysts check to see if any loans have been made.

Website Disclosures

Full Credit

Partial Credit

No Credit

Tax Form Posted on Nonprofit's Website as stated on Form 990 - Listed

5 out of 5 points

For almost all charities, we check the charity's IRS Form 990 to see if it discloses that the Form 990 is available on the charity's website. As with the audited financial statement, donors need easy access to this financial report to help determine if the organization is managing its financial resources well.

Source: IRS Form 990

Financial Metrics

Full Credit

Partial Credit

No Credit

Liabilities to Assets: Ratio - 28.14%

25 out of 25 points

The Liabilities to Assets Ratio is determined by Total Liabilities divided by Total Assets (most recent IRS Form 990). This ratio is an indicator of an organization's solvency and/or long-term sustainability.

Source: IRS Form 990

Program Expense: Ratio - 78.20%

25 out of 25 points

The Program Expense Ratio is determined by Program Expenses divided by Total Expense (average of most recent three IRS Forms 990). This measure reflects the percent of its total expenses a charity spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver.

Source: IRS Form 990

Fundraising Efficiency: Ratio - $0.10

25 out of 25 points

The amount spent to raise $1 in charitable contributions. To calculate a charity's fundraising efficiency, we divide its average fundraising expenses by the average total contributions it receives. We calculate the charity's average expenses and average contributions over its three most recent fiscal years.

Source: IRS Form 990

Working Capital: Ratio - 0.74 years

25 out of 25 points

Determines how long a charity could sustain its level of spending using its net available assets, or working capital, as reported on its most recently filed IRS Form 990. Dividing these net available assets in the most recent year by a charity's average total expenses, yields the working capital ratio. We calculate the charity's average total expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.

Source: IRS Form 990

Additional Information

Total Revenue and Expenses - Data Available

This chart displays the trend of revenue and expenses over the past several years for this organization, as reported on their IRS Form 990.

Salary of Key Persons - Data Available

Presented here are up to five of this organization's highest compensated employees. This compensation data includes salary, cash bonuses, and expense accounts and is displayed exactly how it is reported to the IRS. The amounts do not include nontaxable benefits, deferred compensation, or other amounts not reported on Form W-2. In some cases, these amounts may include compensation from related organizations. Read the IRS policies for compensation reporting

Anna Murphy, President

$143,000

Rachel Wade, Employee

$118,668

Anna Utley, Director

Gokul Nair, Officer, Vice Chair

Emily Szymkiewicz, Officer, Treasurer

Source: IRS Form 990 (page 7), filing year 2023

IRS Published Data (Business Master File) - Data Available

Below are some key data points from the Exempt Organization IRS Business Master File (BMF) for this organization. Learn more about the BMF on the IRS website

Foundation Status:

Organization which receives a substantial part of its support from a governmental unit or the general public 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) (BMF foundation code: 15)

Affiliation:

Independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations). (BMF affiliation code: 3)

Data Sources (IRS Forms 990) - Data Available

The Form 990 is a document that nonprofit organizations file with the IRS annually. We leverage accountability and finance data from it to form Encompass ratings. Click here to search for this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website (if any are available). Simply enter the organization's name (United Way of Southwest Michigan) or EIN (381358411) in the 'Search Term' field.

Impact & Measurement

Score

100

This beacon estimates the actual impact a charity has on the lives of those it serves, and determines whether it is making good use of donor resources to achieve that impact.

Learn more

Assessments

Impact

100 out of 100 points

100% of Impact & Measurement score

Full Credit

Partial Credit

No Credit

Impact Evaluation

100 out of 100 points

Impact Statement

$224,880 total costs / 12,534 years of shared reading = roughly $20 provides a child a year of shared reading with a parent or caregiver. [2021 USD]

Program Context

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library: This program provides books and reading support to toddlers and preschoolers.

Data Time Period

7/1/22 to 6/30/23

Benchmark for Scoring

Impact scores of a shared book programs are based on the rate of continued shared reading per dollar spent. Programs receive an Impact score of 100 if every dollar spent results in an improvement in shared book reading with a parent or caregiver at a cost well below the benchmark. Programs receive an Impact score of 80 if every dollar spent results in an improvement in shared book reading with a parent or caregiver at a cost in line with the benchmark. Programs receive a 65 if they are found to have no improvement in shared book reading or the cost is well above the benchmark. The cost of one year of shared reading is less than the 75% of the social and actual costs of receiving the same service and parental support via a library or other similar service. is

Methodology

This impact score was determined through the Shared Book Reading methodology which is fully detailed in the Charity Navigator Guide to Ratings. Analysis conducted in 2023 by Charity Navigator using data submitted by the nonprofit, theory and evidence from scientific research studies, and public datasets.

Data Source

The nonprofit submitted data on how how many children it supported and the percent who were read to five or more days a week at the end of the program.

Measurement

Unscored

0% of Impact & Measurement score

United Way of Southwest Michigan

Rating Information

Rating Report

97

Key Accountability Metrics

Tax Form Disclosures and Policies

Website Disclosures

Financial Metrics

Additional Information

100

Assessments

Impact

100 out of 100 points

Measurement

Unscored

100

Assessments

Constituent Feedback

100 out of 100 points

Equity Strategies™

Unscored

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Rating Information

Rating Report

97

Key Accountability Metrics

Tax Form Disclosures and Policies

Website Disclosures

Financial Metrics

Additional Information

100

Assessments

Impact

100 out of 100 points

Measurement

Unscored

100

Assessments

Constituent Feedback

100 out of 100 points

Equity Strategies™

Unscored