Fort Lauderdale Historical Society Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 590993499
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA
- Phone
- 9544634431
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $772,053
- Expenses
- $807,375
- Assets
- $1,991,066
- Liabilities
- $101,260
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
14 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ERIN FARRINGTON FINLEN (PRESIDENT)
- ART BENGOCHEA (VICE PRESIDENT)
- ROBERT GOLDEN (VICE PRESIDENT)
- KATHERINE LOCHRIE (VICE PRESIDENT)
- PATRICK SCOTT (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)
- PATRICIA ZEILER (CEO/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- PATRICIA ZEILER (CEO/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $102,500 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
History fort lauderdale brings the stories of our diverse community to life through educational experiences, cultural exhibits, research, and preservation for future generations.
What it reported doing in 2024
Educational programs - tours and outreach for local residents, visitors, and schools that share the story of the history of the community and the individuals that shaped it. Programs include speakers bureau, historic walking tours, and the pioneer school day program. The organization's speakers bureau provides presentations to groups at no cost on subjects that include fort lauderdale history, sandy nininger, ivy and frank stranahan, henry flagler, and the Florida east coast railway historic walking tours, which are offered from october - may through the original neighborhood of fort lauderdale. Admission is free. Tour guides provide stories about old fort lauderdale and the early pioneers, henry flagler and the Florida east coast railroad, and also guide visitors to some of the oldest buildings in the city. The pioneer school day program teaches students how life was led by children and adults 100 years ago. Students tour three different buildings, and each has a different activity. The pioneer school day program emphasizes the importance of the intersection of the new river and the Florida east coast railway to the development of fort lauderdale.
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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 70
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 42
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 78.2%; rating input score 78
- Program expense ratio: 72.9%; rating input score 73
- Fundraising efficiency: $5.57 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -4.6%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.47; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 12.7%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -1.5% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 78.2% of revenue deployed · 72.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $589K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $102K · 14 people listed
- Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- 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.
- 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 25/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.