Brown County Historical Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
356033422
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Nashville, IN, USA
Phone
8129882899
Rating
56
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies & Historic Preservation

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,014,204
Expenses
$284,027
Assets
$7,496,476
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KATHY SHIELDS (PRESIDENT)
  • NORMAN P BULLARD (SECOND VICE PRESIDENT)
  • MARIANNE KUMMERER (1ST VICE PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • EDNA P HOOVER (RECORDING SECRETARY)
  • MIKE KAZIMIER (BOARD MEMBER)
  • ALICE LORENZ (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. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of the brown county historical society is to collect, preserve, and present the history of brown county, Indiana.

What it reported doing in 2025

Brown county historical museum consists of six buildings that have been faithfully preserved and relocated to our museum in beautiful downtown nashville, Indiana. It includes the 1879 log jail, the dog trot barn, the 1898 doctors office, the pioneer log cabin, and the 1850s blacksmith shop. The construction of our new brown county history center was completed in 2015. It is adjacent to the pioneer village.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 74% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The program-spending lines do not add up, so the filing cannot show reliably whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. 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: 2
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 93
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 2.4%; rating input score 2
  • Program expense ratio: 2.8%; rating input score 3
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: 72%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 26.39; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.2% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 30.2% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 2.4% of revenue deployed · 2.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $8K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 17 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 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 2/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 3/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.