Brooks Preservation Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
262798541
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Unity, ME, USA
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies, Related Historical Activities

Reported finances

Revenue
$577,085
Expenses
$348,052
Assets
$1,612,229
Liabilities
$726,063

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Joey Feero (Executive Director)

People named in this filing

  • Joey Feero (Executive Director)
  • Michael Francoeur (Director/Treasurer)
  • Paul Cronin (Director)

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

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Preserve, Maintain, Operate the Belfast Moosehead Lake Railroad

What it reported doing in 2024

Preserve, Maintain, Operate the Belfast Moosehead Lake Railroad. 2024 concluded with over 13,000 passengers attending our events including over 4,800 using the train for the Common Ground County Fair. A number of track improvement projects were completed including the surfacing of 5 miles of the operating territory and the re decking of the Unity Bridge. We continue to make improvements in the non operating territory between Brooks and Thorndike. The Railroad completed improvements to its leased space at 212 Depot Street and now has a Gift Shop, Ticketing station, and kitchen to support our food based events. The Railroad received a generous donation of land and money from a lifetime member. The land being the site of the former Thorndike Engine house which was damaged beyond repair by the December 2023 wind storm. The society also received a donation of a rare Bangor and Aroostook RR scale car.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 62% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 78
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 60.9%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 39.7%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.63; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.45; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.2% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.7% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 60.9% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 23 of 23 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $348K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 22 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.