Betterlife

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EIN 42-0594470 Cemetery / fraternal Madison, WI
Form 990 (PDF)

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Revenue & expenses by yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$63.5M
FY2024▼ -1%
Expenses
$69.2M
FY2024▼ -0.7%

Form 990 for the fiscal year ending December 2024 (IRS tax year 2024).


Offers insurance and fraternal programs that strengthen members, improve communities, and support charitable causes. For fiscal year 2024 it reported $63.5M in revenue, $69.2M in expenses, and $60.2M in net assets.Pt I

Founded
1897
Type
Cemetery / fraternal · Nonprofit
Location
Madison, WI
Website
www.betterlifeins.com
Filings
5 on file (2020–2024)
Revenue
$63.5MFY2024
Expenses
$69.2M
Net assets
$60.2M
People
28
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Figures match the IRS filing checked 7/8/26 · see original: IRS
Provided by the organization

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Size
$10–100M
What they do
Offers insurance and fraternal programs that strengthen members, improve communities, and support charitable causes.
Leadership
Christopher Campbell · Board Chair/CEO/President · $556K
Money in and out
$63.5M revenue, $69.2M expenses
Bottom line
-9% surplus margin

What Funders Ask

6 questions, answered from this org's own filings

Will my donation be tax-deductible?

GOOD

Yes — A fraternal beneficiary society.

IRS Business Master File records this organization as tax-exempt with deductible contributions. See detail →

Can I donate to this org right now?

GOOD

No revocation on IRS record

This EIN does not appear on the IRS auto-revocation list. See detail →

Is this organization up to date?

GOOD

Filed FY2024 (typical filing lag)

Most recent Form 990 on file is for fiscal year 2024 (2 years ago). See detail →

Is it receiving grants from reputable foundations?

NEUTRAL

No foundation grants on file

No Schedule I/Schedule R grants from other foundations are on file for this EIN. See detail →

How is the money spent?

CRITICAL

0% to programs

0% of total functional expenses went to program services in the most recent filing (Form 990 Part IX); the rest is overhead and fundraising. See detail →

What's its financial size and trend?

NEUTRAL

$10–100M · ↓ -1% vs prior year

Revenue band $10–100M, -1% versus the prior filing year (down). See detail →

Reported financial activity · FY2024
Total revenue
$63.5M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$69.2M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$60.2M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$5.7M
Surplus margin
-9%
revenue over expenses, this year▼ -5% vs prior filing year

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Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2024 · Form 990
Total assets
$586.6M
FY2024▼ -3%
Total liabilities
$526.4M
FY2024▼ -2%
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$5.7M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$586.6M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B0%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 39
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 48

Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal name (IRS)Hdr · item CBetterlife
EINHdr · item D42-0594470
Principal addressHdr · item CMadison, WI
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.betterlifeins.com
Year of formationHdr · item L1897
State of legal domicileHdr · item MWI
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(8) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFNonprofit
Ruling yearIRS BMFSep 1940

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a9
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b8
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Board Chair/CEO/President
$555,540Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Operating Officer
$301,443Pt VII · Sec A
$270,707Pt VII · Sec A
Former Officer and Director
$228,042Pt VII · Sec A
Svp-Member Experience
$211,170Pt VII · Sec A
Manager-Independent Sales
$204,607Pt VII · Sec A
Svp-Strategic Initiatives/Corporate Secretary
$194,244Pt VII · Sec A
External Wholesaler/Senior Sales Director
$180,185Pt VII · Sec A

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Christopher Campbell$555,540$315,824———
Daniel L Shinnick$43,470$372,461$403,696$402,925—
Craig a Van Dyke$228,042$364,162$334,014$292,198—
Matthew P Mikulcik$301,443————
Derek J Metcalf$270,707$24,138———
Craig Van Dyke————$260,317
Steven G Reindl——$116,744$226,789—
Angel L Thomas$211,170$178,152$156,177$152,260—

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

2 program services account for $69.2M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

Insurance Activities

The primary purpose of the insurance activities of BetterLife is to accomplish the tax-exempt purpose of the fraternal benefit society rather than to produce income. Number of members: 55,187

$67.1Mprogram expense
02

Fraternal Actvities and Programs

BetterLife provides activity funding to fraternal groups, varying in amount. Funds support various initiatives: A. Community Benefit: BetterLife members organize projects aiding scholarship programs, blood drives, and more. B. Fundraisers and Matching Funds: Grants are offered for fundraising events supporting members in need. C.

$2.1Mprogram expense

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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Program service revenue100%$63.5M
Total revenueLn 12$63.5M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$1.6M
Total assetsLn 16$586.6M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$526.4M
Total net assetsLn 32$60.2M
Months of cash on handcomputed0.3

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2024 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $1.6M · Operating expenses/yr $69.2M
0.3 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $0 · Total expenses $69.2M
not reported
Management & General
Management & general $0 · Total expenses $69.2M
not reported
Fundraising
Fundraising $0 · Total expenses $69.2M
not reported
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $0 · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $0
Solicited contributions below reporting floor
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $0 · Total revenue $63.5M
0%
Government reliance
Government grants — · Total revenue $63.5M
—
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $63.5M · Total revenue $63.5M
100%
Investment reliance
Investment income $0 · Total revenue $63.5M
0%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $63.5M · Total expenses $69.2M
92%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $63.5M · Prior year $64.3M
-1%
Revenue CAGR
FY2020 $25.1M · FY2024 $63.5M
+26%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $60.2M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $63.5M · Expenses $69.2M
-9%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $586.6M
—
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $60.2M · Total assets $586.6M
10%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $586.6M
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Christopher Campbell · Reported title Board Chair/CEO/President · Highest reported compensation $556K · Total expenses $69.2M
0.8%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $8.5M · Total expenses $69.2M
12%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Overhead ratio 0%——
Revenue growth -1%——
Investment management fee ratio 0.1%——
Legal fee ratio 0.4%——
Accounting fee ratio 0.8%——
Fundraising fee ratio 0%——

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · this organization's grantmaking
Grants paid · 7 grants · $207K · 2020–2020
Unitemized GrantFY2020$147,585
Unitemized GrantFY2020$25,800
Unitemized GrantFY2020$16,107
Unitemized GrantFY2020$5,750
Unitemized GrantFY2020$5,000
Unitemized GrantFY2020$3,845
Unitemized GrantFY2020$3,000

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2024 (Latest)$63.5M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$64.3M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$51.2M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$59.4M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$25.1M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2024IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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