Harrisonburg-rockingham Historical Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
541017712
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Dayton, VA, USA
Phone
5408792616
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies & Historic Preservation

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$234,085
Expenses
$404,148
Assets
$2,214,951
Liabilities
$4,765

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PENELOPE IMESON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • PENELOPE IMESON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $65,025 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

So that our communities find inspiration and connection in the rich histories of harrisonburg and rockingham, we keep and tell the stories of the area and its people and their influences on our lives and shared future. We fulfill our mission by: preserving, sharing, innovating, partnering.

What it reported doing in 2024

Rocktown history expanded its free programming with more topics and more accessibility, including some digital platforms. Nine monthly traditional thursday talks presented music from the mountain saxhorn band, a look at the lives of appalachian women, and recognition of massanutten village's 50th year. Twenty two coffee mills events introduced a wide variety of topics in a more casual setting. A monthly history book club began to meet in partnership with the daughters of the american revolution massanutton chapter. Other educational outreach included the quarterly newsletter, innumerable responses to research requests, the introduction of online retail for our unique titles, and tours for private groups, including citizenship classes for skyline literacy.

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 87.2%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.63 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: -72.7%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.48; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.1%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 87.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $352K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $65K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 25/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 54/100.