Cass County North Dakota Historical Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
450306858
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
West Fargo, ND, USA
Phone
7012822822
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies & Historic Preservation

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$781,731
Expenses
$723,916
Assets
$3,700,614
Liabilities
$1,054,065

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Bill Erickson - Director Until (March)/President (As of Apr))
  • Kristen Fellows (President (Until Apr))
  • Jonathan Haux (Vice President (Until Apr))
  • Beth Jansen (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Beth Jansen (Executive Director): $71,400 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To collect, display, and interpret artifacts relevant to the history and cultural heritage of Cass County and the Red River Valley.

What it reported doing in 2024

Bonanzaville, USA, is a cultural institution dedicated to educating, enlightening, and enriching the lives of our guests through the use of history by preserving, sharing, and connecting the past with the present. The Society maintains a historical site "Bonanzaville USA," along with 36 historical structures which have been relocated to the site or built onsite. Activities include the discovery, collection, and preservation of data, objects, or memorabilia of historical value and the dissemination of information concerning the history of Cass County North Dakota, and the state of North Dakota. Bonanzaville held several events during the year in the 12-acre village, including Pioneer Days, 4th of July celebration, and Christmas on the Prairie. In 2024, 30,000 (Continued on Schedule O)visitors toured our historic facilities, hailing from all 50 states in the U.S. and several foreign countries. Four thousand seven hundred school students and their educators participated in a school tour in 2024 as part of their local history curriculum. Visitors aged 16 to 65 account for 33% of participation, ages 6 to 16 for 33%, senior citizens for 17%, military status for 4%, and children under 5%. Bonanzaville is committed to providing the community with a safe and trusted space to learn, explore, relax, and enjoy now and into the future.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 80
  • Sustainability: 59
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.6%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 78.9%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 24th 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: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 7.4%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.11; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.28; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.9%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 75.6% of revenue deployed · 78.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 12 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $571K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $71K · 18 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 37/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 56/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 25/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 37/100.