Michigan · Nonprofit
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC (Michigan) receives grants from 54 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,495,614 to it, the largest being NICKLESS FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION ($294,964). 29 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $4.0M
- Funders on record
- 54
- Grants received
- $1.5M
- Net assets
- $4.3M
What Underground Railroad Inc does
Mission
Our mission is to empower survivors and create a culture of safety and respect in our community.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
On its FY2024 return the organization reported a significant change in how it conducts a program.
The organization sold their five houses that were funded with mshda loans. Two of the houses were sold to current clients. The organization's program strictly will pay for client's rent with 3rd party rental units.
Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 3).
Domestic violence programming: the underground railroad (urr) is saginaw county's only domestic violence victim service agency. Services are provided for primary and secondary victims free of charge. These services include 24 hour helpline (4,610 calls); 46 bed emergency shelter (14,011 nights of shelter); individual crisis/supportive counseling (19,629 units); group counseling (1,050 units); legal advocacy (2,672 court cases accompanied); personal protection order advocacy (631 ppo's); and supervised visitation (117 families served).
$1,654,755 spentof which $55,843 as grants50% of program spendingSupportive housing: the underground railroad (urr) offers three types of supportive housing for victims of domestic violence or sexual assault who need relocation assistance. Rapid rehousing is a six month scattered site housing assistance program that allows victims to transition from shelter/fleeing domestic violence into a new housing situation (11 families served). Transitional housing is a 24-month housing assistance program for survivors leaving shelter/fleeing domestic violence who need longer term assistance gaining financial independence. Housing is provided in onsite or in scattered site rental units (60 families housed). Permanent supportive housing is a long-term housing program for survivors who have disabilities. The participants are housed in scatter-site housing within saginaw county. (7 families housed).
$1,143,663 spentof which $461,043 as grants$2,454 earned by the program35% of program spendingSexual assault intervention and prevention: the underground railroad (urr) provides advocacy, counseling and prevention education programming. Services are provided for primary and secondary victims free of charge. These services include 24 hour helpline (92 calls); and individual supportive counseling (794 units). Victim's services are provided at various locations on the east side of the city of saginaw. Prevention education programming is offered at k-12 schools and summer camps throughout saginaw county. Programming includes bullying prevention and healthy relationship curriculums (3853 participants). Resale store: the underground railroad (urr) operates a resale store as a revenue source to support its programs and services and to provide clothing and household items free of charge to clients. A total of $66,507 were redeemed in client vouchers.
$380,650 spentof which $9,904 as grants$499,561 earned by the program11% of program spendingChildren's services: the underground railroad (urr) offers three programs for children. Girls on the run (gotr) great lakes bay is a local council of gotr international, which is a national program for elementary and middle school girls. Urr's program is offered in the fall and spring at schools in saginaw, bay, arenac, tuscola, huron, midland, gladwin, and clare counties. Girls learn to make healthy choices and be joyful in a program that incorporates running and walking to build confidence and self-esteem. The 2025 spring program concluded with 207 girls participating in the girls on the run 5k at the dow run walk. The 2025 fall program concluded with 165 girls participating the girls on the run great lakes bay 5k.urr operates a state licensed childcare for residents of our emergency shelter and transitional housing programs and for non-resident victims who are attending group or individual counseling sessions (8,046.85 units provided). Individual and group counseling is available for children impacted by domestic violence (276 children served). Community development: the underground railroad's (urr) community development department provides community education and systems…
$133,453 spent$38,885 earned by the program4% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $3,312,521.
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 2020 to 2021, from $3.8M to $4.2M (+12%).
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: 2017 70% · 2018 67% · 2020 75% · 2021 73% · 2022 74% · 2023 73% · 2024 71% · 2025 68%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
83% of UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (81% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 0 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
Christi Birchmeier
President/CEO
Board chair
Terri Carmichael
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2017 and FY2018 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 13 funders to 16 funders, grant income fell $138k → $137k.
5 of 54 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 16% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 54 funders by total. 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
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 20% of grant income, and it takes 4 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 4 funders to its left
36% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 29% · 2018 32% · 2019 23% · 2020 21% · 2021 24% · 2022 28% · 2023 29% — broadly stable.
“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
44% of UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 54% 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
86% of UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC's grant income comes from Michigan funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $234k arriving through sponsors registered in 3 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
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 7,349 human services nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 7,349 human services nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Government funding UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $6.5M on record.
- Department of Housing and Urban Development$5.6M
- Department of Justice$890k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC
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
88% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
88%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC: 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 UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC?
- UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC (Michigan) receives grants from 54 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,495,614 to it, the largest being NICKLESS FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION ($294,964). 29 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC have?
- IRS filings report 54 organizations giving $1,495,614 in grants to UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC, 29 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC?
- NICKLESS FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $294,964 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like UNDERGROUND RAILROAD INC 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.
Play a game about who funds Underground Railroad →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 54 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