A Brighter Way FY2023 filing

Tax-deductible

Ypsilanti, MI501(c)(3)EIN 81-1186430

A Brighter Way ABW helps formerly incarcerated individuals make a successful return to society. Our primary activities to achieve this are mentoring programs, advocacy, and direct support for basic needs.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
79¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$83K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2023 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2024
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
3 of 3
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $191K a year · 28% of revenue · last 3 filings
Looks good: a surplus in 3 of the last 3 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 3 filings
Spent on programs
79%
of spending
Looks good: 79% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$83K
to officers and key staff · 15% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 15% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
6 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 6.1 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
4
named funders · $209K
Looks good: 4 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$94K
12% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 12% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
7
of 8 voting members
Looks good: 7 of 8 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$1.0M
+306% vs prior year
Spent
$551K
To programs
79%
Net assets
$663K
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$1.0M
FY2023▲ +306%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$97K
FY2021$96K
FY2022$249K
FY2023$1.0M
FY2024$792K
Expenses
$551K
FY2023▲ +176%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020Not on file
FY2021Not on file
FY2022$199K
FY2023$551K
FY2024$730K
Net assets
$663K
FY2023▲ +871%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$40K
FY2021$13K
FY2022$68K
FY2023$663K
FY2024$725K

From the FY2023 Form 990 · see the original

Give Claim
You’re viewing the FY2023 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Mar 2019.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

79 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 79% · $436K Management & general 17% · $92K Fundraising 4% · $23K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

Who runs it and what they're paid

9 people listed on the 990; $83K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Executive Director
$60,608Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member and Deputy Director/Development Director
$22,256Pt VII · Sec A
President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 4 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Adam Grant$68,788$60,608$56,735$2,250—
Cozine Welch———$51,000$44,160
Jeanne Ross$31,200$22,256$20,800$2,400—
Aaron Suganuma————$5,000

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.

See A Brighter Way executive salaries →

Are you one of these people? Claim this org to confirm your role

Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Supports formerly incarcerated individuals with mentoring, advocacy, and basic needs for successful societal reintegration.

Provided by the organization

This section is blank until A Brighter Way claims this page.

Know this organization? Claim it to add your story

1 program service account for $436K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2023.
01

ABW helps formerly incarcerated individuals living in Washtenaw County to build stable, successful, and fulfilling lives. We support these returned citizens by forging strong relationships with our mentoring teams, community resources, and committed advocates.

$436Kprogram expense

Run this program? Claim this org to tell your story

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
See all 4 funders →
Grants paid · 3 grants · $54K · 2022–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$14,008
Unitemized GrantFY2023$28,547
Unitemized GrantFY2022$11,065

By the numbers

The FY2023 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$1.0M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$955K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$57K
Investment incomeLn 3$2K
Money outPt IX
$551K
Ln 25
Programscol B$436K
Managementcol C$92K
Fundraisingcol D$23K
Owns and owesPt X
$663K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$278K
Total assetsLn 16$757K
LiabilitiesLn 26$94K
PeoplePt VI, VII
9
listed · VII A
PaidVII A2
Voting boardVI 1a8
IndependentVI 1b7
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$955K
Government grantsLn 1e$220K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$57K
Investment incomeLn 3$2K
Other incomeLn 4–11$200
Total revenueLn 12$1.0M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$15K
SavingsLn 2$263K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$278K
Other assetsLn 15$46K
Total assetsLn 16$757K
LiabilitiesLn 26$94K
Net assetsLn 32$663K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 59
VolunteersI 630
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
Records policyVI 14No
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY23End FY23
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$107K$278K
Total assetsLn 16$107K$757K
LiabilitiesLn 26$38K$94K
Net assetsLn 32$68K$663K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$0
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$29K$29K
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$0
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$95K$62K$21K$12K
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$186K$178K$8K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$0
Other employee benefitsLn 9$27K$24K$3K
Payroll taxesLn 10$19K$17K$2K$758
Management feesLn 11a$0
Legal feesLn 11b$0
Accounting feesLn 11c$13K$13K
Lobbying feesLn 11d$0
Investment management feesLn 11f$0
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$124K$99K$25K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$16K$12K$2K$1K
Office expensesLn 13$10K$4K$6K$584
Information technologyLn 14$11K$3K$7K
RoyaltiesLn 15$0
OccupancyLn 16$10K$3K$6K$1K
TravelLn 17$3K$2K$377$251
Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18$0
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$1K$499$474$100
InterestLn 20$1K$1K
Payments to affiliatesLn 21$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$0
InsuranceLn 23$6K$5K$96$37
All other expensesLn 24e$709$709
Total functional expensesLn 25$551K$436K$92K$23K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 Latest $792K$730K$62K$725K 990 PDF
FY2023 Viewing $1.0M$551K$463K$663K 990 PDF
FY2022 $249K$199K$50K$68K 990 PDF
FY2021 $96K$13K 990 PDF
FY2020 $97K$40K 990 PDF

Want to add your own materials alongside these filings? Claim this org

Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2023 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,013,720 across 6 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $200 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1e Government grants$220,029
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$734,481
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$954,510
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $56,945$56,945
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $2,065$2,065
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $57,145 · Excluded from tax $2,065$1,013,720
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $551,027 across 29 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizations$0
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $28,547$28,547
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipients$0
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for members$0
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $62,025 · Management $21,289 · Fundraising $11,780$95,094
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $177,573 · Management $8,315$185,888
IX-8 Pension plan contributions$0
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $23,903 · Management $3,464$27,367
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $16,658 · Management $1,954 · Fundraising $758$19,370
IX-11a Management fees$0
IX-11b Legal fees$0
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $13,070$13,070
IX-11d Lobbying fees$0
IX-11f Investment management fees$0
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $99,193 · Management $24,798$123,991
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $12,305 · Management $2,285 · Fundraising $1,215$15,805
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $3,606 · Management $5,724 · Fundraising $584$9,914
IX-14 Information technologyManagement $3,497 · Fundraising $7,350$10,847
IX-15 Royalties$0
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $3,367 · Management $5,815 · Fundraising $1,020$10,202
IX-17 TravelPrograms $1,883 · Management $377 · Fundraising $251$2,511
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officials$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $499 · Management $474 · Fundraising $100$1,073
IX-20 InterestManagement $1,066$1,066
IX-21 Payments to affiliates$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortization$0
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $5,440 · Management $96 · Fundraising $37$5,573
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $709$709
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $435,708 · Management $92,224 · Fundraising $23,095$551,027
Part X · Balance sheet $756,512 assets, 14 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $864$14,623
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $105,852$263,448
X-3 Pledges and grants receivable$431,296
X-4 Accounts receivable$775
X-15 Other assets$46,370
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $106,716$756,512
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $19,466$28,199
X-24 Unsecured notes and loans payableStart of year $19,000$19,000
X-25 Other liabilities$46,370
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $38,466$93,569
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $26,196$166,838
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $42,054$496,105
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $68,250$662,943
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $106,716$756,512
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $662,943 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$1,013,720
XI-2 Total expenses$551,027
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$462,693
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$68,250
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$132,000
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$662,943

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

Similar organizations you could support · Compare with another nonprofit

Names, privacy, and removal requests More

The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.

Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown.

We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.

Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.

If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.

Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.

If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.

If you ARE the filing organization, claim this org and add context

Made it to the end? Claim this organization

Keep this kind of thing free
Keep public charity data easy to read.

Free to the public, because obviously. Like this? Pay it forward. Don't like this? Help us get better.

Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through Stripe. One time.
Keep this kind of thing free
Keep public charity data easy to read.

Free to the public, because obviously. Like this? Pay it forward. Don't like this? Help us get better.

Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through Stripe. One time.

All figures are derived from public IRS Form 990 filings and are presented without evaluation of any organization. philanthropy.org does not rate, score, or rank organizations, including the pay comparisons above.