Colebrook Preservation Society Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
208602135
IRS 990 coverage
2025–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2024, Form 990-N 2014
Location
Colebrook, CT, USA
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies, Related Historical Activities
Affiliation
Christianity

Reported finances

Revenue
$207,805
Expenses
$139,824
Assets
$175,323
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Edward G Lord III (President)

People named in this filing

  • Edward G Lord III (President)
  • Colette M Hiller (Treasurer)
  • Carol H Lord (Secretary)

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 purpose of the Colebrook Preservation Society, Inc (CPS) is to acquire, renovate, preserve, and/or operate buildings of historical significance located within the Town of Colebrook. On June 28, 2013, CPS purchased the Colebrook Store from FEC Enterprises, LLC, who acquired it in bankruptcy several years earlier. Until it's bankruptcy, the Colebrook Store was the longest continuously operated store in Connecticut. and has been listed on the National Register of Historical Places since April 26, 1976. The Colebrook Store is one of only four non-residential buildings in Colebrook (others including the Town Hall, the Historical Society, and the Congregational Church). To us it's more then just a store, its a gathering place for the 1,457 residents of Colebrook, together with our neighbors in the nearby towns of Norfolk, Winsted, and Barkhamsted.

What it reported doing in 2025

A second objective of CPS is to lease the store on friendly terms to a tenant who will operate it and restore services to the community. Although rental income covers some costs, public support and grant money will be necessary for the foreseeable future.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% 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

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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 64
  • Sustainability: 69
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 65.6%; rating input score 66
  • Program expense ratio: 97.5%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: $82.84 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 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: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 32.7%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.25; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 53.6% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.9% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 65.6% of revenue deployed · 97.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $136K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 47/100.