Dubuque Arboretum Association Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
421160989
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Dubuque, IA, USA
Phone
5635562100
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Botanical Gardens, Arboreta and Botanical Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$659,933
Expenses
$608,697
Assets
$3,277,202
Liabilities
$64,853

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JENNA HIRTZ (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • JENNA HIRTZ (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $76,883 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To become a cherished destination for all, where vibrant gardens create transformative experiences that connect people, inspire learning, and deepen appreciation for nature.

What it reported doing in 2025

The dubuque arboretum and botanical gardens is a 56 acre public garden.this garden is maintained by over 200 volunteers who assist in many ways such as the gift shop, the grounds, maintenance, etc. All the plantings on the grounds have identification tags for educational purposes, this allows the gardens to be considered a living museum as well. The gardens have a mixture of perennial, annual, japanese, and english gardens and so much more. Tree collections in the arboretum consist of conifers, oaks, maples, magnolias, etc. The garden holds many events including concerts each season. Many people choose to hold special events on beautiful grounds as well, such as weddings. The dubuque arboretum and botanical gardens brings in over 83,000 guests from all over the world each year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 78% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

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

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 59
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 66.6%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.18 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: 7.8%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.38; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.6%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.3% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77% of revenue deployed · 66.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $405K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $77K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2025
  • 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.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 39/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 51/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 53/100.