Dakota Prairie Community Action Agency Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237231256
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Devils Lake, ND, USA
Phone
7016626500
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,515,463
Expenses
$2,435,286
Assets
$927,221
Liabilities
$161,605

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DORIS GRIFFIN (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • JEFF FRITH (PRESIDENT)
  • GAIL PEARSON (VICE PRESIDENT (LEFT 12/2024))
  • LORA PAPACHEK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • LORA PAPACHEK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $78,191 total reported compensation
  • DURWOOD SCHULTZ (CFO): $62,479 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Dakota prairie community action agency, inc was formed to provide advocacy, programs, and services to address the issues of poverty and improve economic self-sufficiency for all households in a six-county area in North Dakota. Areas of service or program operations include food, clothing, shelter, housing, child care, energy conservation and individualized support services.

What it reported doing in 2024

Nutrition and emergency assistance: emergency information & referral - providing information and/or referral to any services available from dpcaa or within the community to help resolve a household emergency situation.emergency rent/mortgage assistance - financial assistance with first month's rent when homeless or past due rent or mortgage payment where the household is faced with an eviction. Help with a percentage of one month's rent amount is generally provided and household is responsible for a percentage also. Must be homeless or faced with eviction, have resources to pay ongoing living expenses and be at or below 125% poverty level.emergency deposit assistance - these home dollars will be used in emergency situations to prevent homelessness or to assist persons in transitional housing to secure permanent rental housing. Funds may also be used to assist low-income families in securing a more affordable rental unit. Funds will be used only for security or utility deposits, or an approved tbra program.emergency temporary shelter - short term temporary shelter provided in emergency situations on a limited basis.emergency energy support - various programs available to help with emergency payment of a past due utility to prevent eviction or homelessness. Most grants allow for help with one month's bill for a specific utility. Income eligibility varies for different grants/programs used to provide utility assistance.emergency transportation assistance - one-time emergency transportation provided in the form of a voucher for gas. Gas assistance requires valid driver's license & verification of needing assistance.personal/household items - personal and household items, such as dishes, kettles, bedding, towels & furniture are provided on a first come first serve basis to households in need. Availability of items is dependent on donations from the public.nutritionnutrition information & referral -providing information and/or referral to any nutritional services available from dpcaa or within the community.temporary emergency food assistance program - distribution of surplus usda commodity foods through the food pantry on an emergency as needed basis. Participation priority is given to elderly and disabled individuals. This program is offered for those at or below 200% federal poverty level. (rolla office only)food pantry - assistance provided with a food basket to help meet household emergency food needs. (rolla office only)sportsmen against hunger - the donation of venison, canadian geese, and snow geese for processing and distribution through agency operated and supported food pantries as part of emergency food baskets. Processing is done utilizing donated funds and must be done in a usda approved facility in adherence to strict processing guidelines. Processed meat is distributed to food pantries within region iii. Holiday food baskets - food baskets provided to help households with extra expenses of holiday meals generally at thanksgiving & christmas.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 99% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 54% for direct work, and 46% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - 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: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.1%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 88.9%; rating input score 89
  • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3.2%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.38; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.8%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.6% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.1% of revenue deployed · 88.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $78K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 12/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 45/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 47/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 48/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.