Heritage Foundation for Germans from Russia

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
450460797
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2022
Location
Bismarck, ND, USA
Phone
3607711939
Rating
59
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$50,158
Expenses
$21,296
Assets
$664,136
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Cameron Nicklaus (President)
  • Tim Geiger (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • Cameron Nicklaus (President)
  • Tim Geiger (Vice President)
  • Randy Heinz (Secretary)

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

Functions as a fundraising arm to GRHS by receiving donations and investing those funds to support GRHS. GRHS is a 501(c)(3) organization with the goal of preserving German Russian culture and heritage. See description provided in Part I, Line 1.

What it reported doing in 2024

Grants paid out to unrelated grantees of the Youth Essay program for prizes cash paid for writing awards as determined by GRHS. Awards are for writing contests that relate to the cultural mission of GRHS. The prizes are paid out of the Gwen Pritzkau fund, which is managed by HFGR through investments of donations made to HFGR. Other than grants paid, no material expenses incurred or allocated to program.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 76% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 58
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 6
  • Sustainability: 83
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 51.7%; rating input score 52
  • Program expense ratio: 86.4%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 84.2%; rating input score 84; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 9th 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: 57.5%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 31.19; rating input score 87; 87th 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: 11.2% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.4% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 51.7% of revenue deployed · 86.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 10 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $18K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 13 of 14 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 52/100.
  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.