Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
454265442
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2012
Location
Boyertown, PA, USA
Phone
6104133345
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies, Related Historical Activities

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,700,716
Expenses
$3,007,865
Assets
$39,100,615
Liabilities
$3,466,183

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • NATHANIEL GUEST (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ROBERT WADE (PRESIDENT & SECRETARY)

People named in this filing

  • NATHANIEL GUEST (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ROBERT WADE (PRESIDENT & SECRETARY)
  • GEORGE WAUSNOCK (MEMBER)

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

Maintain and restore the colebrookdale railroad and trains. Transforming a civil war era railroad and greenway into an engine of community and economic development. Our railbikes enable young, old, and persons with disibilies to exercise in nature

What it reported doing in 2025

Maintain and restore the colebrookdale railroad and trains.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 70% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 61
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 90
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 32.7%; rating input score 33
  • Program expense ratio: 95.8%; rating input score 96
  • Fundraising efficiency: $468.84 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 10th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 71.9%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 13; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 22% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 27.9% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 32.7% of revenue deployed · 95.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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 33/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.