Crow Wing County Fair

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
416007615
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Brainerd, MN, USA
Phone
2188296680
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fairs

Reported finances

Revenue
$512,695
Expenses
$494,470
Assets
$115,815
Liabilities
$2,336

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • NATHAN HULINSKY (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOANN TUIL (ACCOUNTANT): $8,800 total reported compensation
  • PENNY ANDERSON (DIRECTOR): $593 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 provide opportunity for our patronage to touch base with the agricultural heritage of crow wing county.

What it reported doing in 2024

The crow wing county fair is now among the five largest fairs in Minnesota, with annual exhibits numbering over 6,000 and annual attendance estimated at 100,000. The fairgrounds includes a variety of buildings, as well as a modern curling facility that has a capacity of 860, a grand stand that seats 1,800, and a large horse arena with bleachers.

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. 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: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 65
  • Sustainability: 39
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 89.8%; rating input score 90
  • 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: 90%; rating input score 90; 23rd 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: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3.6%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.23; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.9%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.5% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -3% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90% of revenue deployed · 89.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 10 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $444K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $9K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 46/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 59/100.