Hernando Desoto Historical Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
590649981
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Bradenton, FL, USA
Phone
9417471998
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$953,746
Expenses
$928,319
Assets
$181,326
Liabilities
$123,263

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BOB RICHARDSON (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • BILL BOOTH (BOARD MEMBER)
  • JOHN DELESLINE (MEMBERSHIP C)
  • JORDAN DESEAR (BOARD MEMBER)

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

Production of community festival in connection with the staging and reenactment of historical events

What it reported doing in 2024

The hernando desoto historical society, inc. Is a not-for-profit, community organization of 156 conquistadors (active volunteer members) who celebrate the historical significance of spanish explorer hernando desoto's landing near the mouth of the manatee river in may 1539. With his 600 conquistadors, desoto claimed possession of la Florida on behalf of the spanish crown and then began his lengthy exploration of what is now the southeastern united states. Along with its membership, which includes many civic, governmental and business leaders, the society serves in a variety of community-oriented roles. The society produces one of the largest entertainment events in manatee county on an annual basis including a seafood festival, homemade boating race, half-marathon, a musical and fashion show, a formal-dress ball including daytime and evening parades. The society supports various local charities including lighthouse of manasota, adopt-a-family, toys for tots, keep manatee beautiful, the boys and girls clubs of manatee county and others. The society provides public education on Florida's spanish heritage through crewe visits to local schools and retirement homes. The society financially supports a sister organization, the counquistador historical foundation, which donates to other community charities, provides educational programs, funds scholarships and maintains a historical museum in downtown bradenton. The society's premier series of events, collectively called the desoto heritage festival, receives considerable media attention, as do the various event sponsors. Our dues paying members donate countless hours of their time preparing for the festival; simply because of their love for the community. The society is entering its 80th year of producing the desoto heritage festival.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 67% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.3%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 90.7%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: $46.15 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 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: 2.7%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.2; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.68; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.3% of revenue deployed · 90.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $842K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 18 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 9/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 44/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 11/100.