Firefighters Museum and Survive Alive Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
351684705
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Indianapolis, IN, USA
Phone
3172625161
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$109,397
Expenses
$123,015
Assets
$1,206,914
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • WILLIAM WHITELEY (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • WILLIAM WHITELEY (PRESIDENT): $49,466 total reported compensation
  • RON KAUTSKY (TREASURER): $46,498 total reported compensation
  • PAUL CLOYD (VICE PRESIDE): $44,520 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 provide fire safety education and a museum to celebrate and honor the contributions of central Indiana fire services to the city of indianapolis.

What it reported doing in 2025

Operated museum to educate the general public about the history, contributions, and impact that the local fire department has made on the city of indianapolis. An estimated 700 people visited the museum in 2025.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 97% 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. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 9
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 92.4%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 0%; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 22
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -12.4%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.81; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: Limited

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.5% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.5% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.3% per year; rating input score 0; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 92.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 4 board members independent · 2 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $114K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $49K · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 13 of 13 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.