Firelands Historical Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
344471422
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Norwalk, OH, USA
Phone
4196686038
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies & Historic Preservation

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$83,986
Expenses
$49,016
Assets
$857,359
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DIANE MEYER (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • CHRIS HIPP (FORMER PRESI)
  • DIANE MEYER (PRESIDENT)
  • FRED DOWNEY (1ST VICE PRE)

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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Promotes and preserves the history and genealogy of the firelands area in northern Ohio at the firelands museum and laning-young research center located on case ave., norwalk, Ohio.

What it reported doing in 2024

Laning-young research center- the firelands historical society in conjunction with the museum operates the laning-young research center at 7 case ave., norwalk, Ohio. Housed within the research center is a collection of local, county and various state histories, family genealogical records, local records and a vast collection of historical photographs of the firelands area. The research center also houses a native american indian artifact collection as well as a collection of antique agricultural equipment and farm items used on farms within the firelands area.

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 - 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: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 77
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 57.8%; rating input score 58
  • Program expense ratio: 85.2%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.05 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 53; 53rd 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 41.6%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 17.49; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.2% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -10.8% per year; rating input score 0; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 57.8% of revenue deployed · 85.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $42K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 58/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 53/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.