Burlington Route Historical Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
363100435
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2023
Location
Lagrange, IL, USA
Phone
6309702916
Rating
49
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$289,712
Expenses
$112,450
Assets
$642,573
Liabilities
$26,986

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • TERRY ULRICH (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • TOM WHITT (PRES DIRECTOR)
  • GREG KOON (VP DIRECTOR)
  • BILL JELINEK (SEC 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

Collect & preserve data related to the cb&q railroad

What it reported doing in 2024

Locate gather and publish information related to the chicago, burlington & quincy railroad & its predecessors for the information & the benefit of members & others.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 64% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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

MIXED - 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 voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 40
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 6
  • Sustainability: 80
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 30.4%; rating input score 30
  • Program expense ratio: 70.5%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 61.2%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.71; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 13.3% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.1% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 30.4% of revenue deployed · 70.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 10 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $79K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 23 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 30/100.
  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 34/100.