Gouverneur Agricultural and Mechanical Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
150545530
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Gouverneur, NY, USA
Phone
3152873010
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fairs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$531,226
Expenses
$427,909
Assets
$729,628
Liabilities
$142,795

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BETH MARTIN (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • DAVE BISHOP (DIRECTOR)
  • LINDA BISHOP (DIRECTOR)
  • JAY BOWHALL (DIRECTOR)

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

To instruct the general public on agricultural, horticultural, domestic arts, and allied science matters through an annual fair. To promote and further the interest in agriculture in st. Lawrence county and surrounding areas. To encourage the development of youth leadership through agriculturally- related competition and participatory activities. To participate in and encourage community-based efforts aimed at promoting social and recreational activities in the area.

What it reported doing in 2024

The society holds the gouverneur and st. Lawrence county fair annually in gouverneur, ny. The fair has been held for 165 years. Through the fair, the society educates the attending public on and promotes a wide variety of interests through exhibits and competitions involving: agricultural activities such as animal husbandry, beef cattlel draft horses, poultry, sheep, dairy operations, and other small animals; horticultural activities such as vegetable gardening, flower cultivation, maple sugar production and ornamental plant varieties; domestic arts such as knitting, wood crafts, quilting, canned foods, baking, painting, and drawing; and farm equipment and technology such as tractors, watering techniques and alternative heating and power methods. Prizes for each competion encourage participation and excellence within the county. A firemen's parade, horse and tractor pulls, fire and rescue demonstrations, and harness racing showcase these activities and provide recreation and entertainment for the public. The fair also hosts musical and other acts, carnival rides and concessions for the entertainment of members and the public. This entertainment serves to attract the public to the fair. The fair also holds agriculturally-related contests and festivals at other times of the year, such as pumpkin festival, as fundraisers and means of showcasing agircultural achievements.

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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 64
  • Sustainability: 67
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.2%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 99.5%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 12th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 19.4%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.71; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.2; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80.2% of revenue deployed · 99.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $426K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 17 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 21 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule D land buildings reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 32/100.