Michigan · Nonprofit
SME EDUCATION FOUNDATION
SME EDUCATION FOUNDATION (Michigan) receives grants from 24 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,895,471 to it, the largest being FORD PHILANTHROPY ($853,575). 16 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $8.0M
- Funders on record
- 24
- Grants received
- $1.9M
- Net assets
- $30M
What Sme Education Foundation does
Mission
A. To operate and act exclusively for the benefit of, to perform the functions of, and to carry out the purpose of the society of manufacturing engineers, a tax-exempt charitable organization which is described in section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code of 1986, as amended, (the "code"), and which is not a private foundation, as such term is defined in code section 509, pursuant to code section 509(a)(2). B. The Sme Education Foundation's mission is to prepare the future engineers and technologists for manufacturing careers through outreach programs to enrich students to study science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (stem) in alignment with sme. C. To operate and act exclusively for charitable and educational purposes as such terms are used in code section 501(c)(3). D. To receive and administer assets exclusively for charitable and educational purposes as such terms are used in code section 501(c)(3).
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Scholarships: in 2023 the Sme Education Foundation awarded academic scholarships to 183 graduating high school seniors, current undergraduates and masters or doctoral degree students pursuing post-secondary degrees in manufacturing engineering, manufacturing technology, and related fields. Total scholarship awards distributed to 123 higher educational institutions equaled $939,966.
$1,233,807 spentof which $939,966 as grants$68,109 earned by the program20% of program spendingEducational programs: the prime (partnerhsip response in manufacturing education) program provides high school students with hands-on training and manufacturing skills through access to advanced technologies, industry-led curriculum, job shadowing and mentoring programs. Cash, equipment and curriculum totaling $3,635,598 was donated to schools in the prime network in 2023.
$4,514,000 spentof which $3,635,598 as grants$736,000 earned by the program74% of program spendingEducational events and activities: projects included sponsorship of girl's stem camp and sme student chapter assistance.
$314,163 spentof which $8,835 as grants5% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2023 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $6,061,970.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2021 to 2022, from $34M to $24M (−30%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2021 54% · 2023 44% · 2024 12%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
76% of SME EDUCATION FOUNDATION’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (48% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Robert Willig
Executive director & CEO
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2020 and FY2021 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 3 funders to 8 funders, grant income rose $119k → $134k.
5 of 24 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 4% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $6.9M from one payer (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Society of Manufacturing Engineers). These are real filings, and they are not money SME EDUCATION FOUNDATION raised.
From the IRS filings of SME EDUCATION FOUNDATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
SME EDUCATION FOUNDATION leans on a few funders — its largest provides 45% of grant income and the top three 61%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 88% · 2018 76% · 2019 51% · 2020 36% · 2021 40% · 2022 63% · 2023 37% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
31% of SME EDUCATION FOUNDATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 67% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
81% of SME EDUCATION FOUNDATION's grant income comes from Michigan funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $79k arriving through sponsors registered in 5 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
SME EDUCATION FOUNDATION is better cushioned than half of the 11,761 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 11,761 education nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Organizations like SME EDUCATION FOUNDATION
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Michigan
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
90% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
86%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 11 states
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Society of Manufacturing Engineers · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for SME EDUCATION FOUNDATION: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds SME EDUCATION FOUNDATION?
- SME EDUCATION FOUNDATION (Michigan) receives grants from 24 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,895,471 to it, the largest being FORD PHILANTHROPY ($853,575). 16 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does SME EDUCATION FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 24 organizations giving $1,895,471 in grants to SME EDUCATION FOUNDATION, 16 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of SME EDUCATION FOUNDATION?
- FORD PHILANTHROPY is the largest funder on record, with $853,575 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like SME EDUCATION FOUNDATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Michigan. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 24 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing