Grinnell Volunteer Fire Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
461055210
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2018
Location
Grinnell, IA, USA
Phone
6412362688
Rating
55
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fire Prevention

Reported finances

Revenue
$83,634
Expenses
$23,148
Assets
$321,814
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Kelly Fosse (President)
  • Todd Pollock (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • Kelly Fosse (President)
  • Todd Pollock (Vice President)
  • Josh Stepanek (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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of the Grinnell Volunteer Fire Association shall be protection of life and safety of property from threat of fires, natural or man-made disasters and emergency rescues. This will be accomplished through planning, prevention, education, incident mitigation and appropriate application of technology. This association provides this protection to the City of Grinnell and the surrounding rural community. The Grinnell Volunteer Fire Association is funded 100% by donations through fundraising and spends those funds to support and accomplish their mission.

What it reported doing in 2024

Annual State Firefighters Association Convention - Host and support convention, provide training, education, entertainment and networking of volunteer firefighters.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 23
  • Transparency & Controls: 89
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 80
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 23.8%; rating input score 24
  • Program expense ratio: 30.2%; rating input score 30
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • 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: 72.3%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 13.9; rating input score 71; 71st 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: -12.6% per year; rating input score 0; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -8.9% per year; rating input score 0; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 23.8% of revenue deployed · 30.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 40 of 40 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $7K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 16 of 17 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 24/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 30/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.