Friends of Quarry Hill Nature Center Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 363416399
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2019–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Rochester, MN, USA
- Phone
- 5073283950
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Single Organization Support
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $723,384
- Expenses
- $651,486
- Assets
- $1,746,115
- Liabilities
- $67,946
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
15 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- PEGGY EDWARDS (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- PAMELA MEYER (EXECUTIVE DI): $83,991 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The organization's mission is to open eyes and minds through natural science discovery.
What it reported doing in 2024
Quarry hill nature center, open to the public since 1974, is located within 329 acre quarry hill park in rochester, Minnesota. The nature center utilizes the park's resources (a pond, forest, prairie, stream, limestone quarry and restored oak savanna) to provide innovative and hands-on natural science and environmental education programs and recreation opportunities for more than 100,000 visitors yearly. These visitors include nearly 35,000 k-12 students from rochester and the surrounding community, 2,000 participants in summer nature day camp, adult learners, bird watchers, outdoor recreation enthusiasts, scouts and a wide variety of other groups. The science education programs offered to schools tie in with Minnesota state science standards. In addition to science classes and naturalist programs, quarry hill also offers ski and snowshoe rental, an exploration hall featuring live animals and exhibits and special events throughout the year. The nature center is admission free and is open to the public 360 days per year.
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 98% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 65
- Transparency & Controls: 94
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 60
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 69.6%; rating input score 70
- Program expense ratio: 74.1%; rating input score 74
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.36 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- 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: 9.9%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.68; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 12.9%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -5.3% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 9.9% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 69.6% of revenue deployed · 74.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $483K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $84K · 15 people listed
- Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.