Great Mississippi River Balloon Race

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
640792957
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Natchez, MS, USA
Phone
6014427411
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$541,733
Expenses
$540,553
Assets
$615,157
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SAM KIRBY (PRESIDENT)
  • CARTER BURNS (VICE PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • SAM KIRBY (PRESIDENT)
  • CARTER BURNS (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • SCOTT ADAMS (TREASURER)

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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Recreational benefits for the public.

What it reported doing in 2025

The great Mississippi river balloon race was held in october 2025 in natchez, ms. The festival was open to and for the benefit of the general public. The public was provided with leisure activities which included balloon rides, race observation, festival entertainment, food and beverages, balloon glow and fireworks. Educational opportunities are provided to members of the general public who wish to converse with balloon pilots and crews to learn about balloon flight principles and history. Prior to the race weekend volunteers are recruited from the general public to serve as crew members for the balloons that come for the race. These volunteers are provided crew training prior to the race weekend.the great Mississippi river balloon race is advertised throughout the south and this advertising promotes tourism in Mississippi and natchez. The race has received nationwide recognition in some travel and leisure publications and this national exposure has benefited the city of natchez and its citizens.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 96% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 48
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 99.6%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 62.5%; rating input score 62; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.2%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.14; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 99.6% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $541K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 14 of 15 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 31/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 47/100.