Brookings County Historical Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237018164
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2016–2025
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Brookings, SD, USA
Phone
6056928179
Rating
36
Verdict
REVIEW
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies, Related Historical Activities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$25,810
Expenses
$22,008
Assets
$257,540

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Shirley Deethardt (President)
  • Marv Hope (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • Shirley Deethardt (President)
  • Marv Hope (Vice President)
  • Darla Strande (Treasurer)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Brookings County Historical Society provides an extensive historical archive that includes family histories, old books of local interest, obituary and county burial records, newspaper clipping scrapbooks, old maps, and old Brookings County photographs.

What it reported doing in 2025

The museum located just six miles west of Brookings along highway 14, is a treasure of Brookings County history and memorabilia. The campus consists of 6 buildings, the main museum, a vintage farm equipment barn, the 1870 Sundet log cabin, the district #89 school house, the Haunxhurst house and the Trooien building. Over the years hundreds of volunteers have stepped forward to contribute artifacts, and to help in the operation of the museum complex. Only a small portion of the more than 5,000 artifacts are displayed at any given time. The museum remains free to the thousands of visitors that come each year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent revenue detail to tell how this nonprofit funds its work.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

REVIEW - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue comfortably covers expenses. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 0
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 0.4%; rating input score 0
  • Program expense ratio: 0.4%; rating input score 0

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 14.7%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 11.7; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -31.8% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -18.7% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.2% per year; rating input score 0; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 0.4% of revenue deployed · 0.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $99 in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 6 of 6 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.