Hillforest Historical Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
351078976
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Aurora, IN, USA
Phone
8129260087
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies & Historic Preservation

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$137,979
Expenses
$179,108
Assets
$952,308
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Cliff Thies (Executive Director - left mid-year)
  • Cindy Schuette (Director and Interim Executive Director from mid-year)
  • Judy Ullrich (President)
  • Gloria Holland (Vice- President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Cliff Thies (Executive Director - left mid-year): $28,697 total reported compensation
  • Cindy Schuette (Director and Interim Executive Director from mid-year): $11,985 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To restore and maintain a National Registry historical building and to hold events to educate the public.

What it reported doing in 2024

Approximately 2,172 individuals visited Hillforest in 2024 all who toured the historical home which is about 4% percent higher than the number of 2023 visitors. Hillforest was able to hold several events in 2024 and in general saw an increased interest in individuals coming to the museum for tours throughout the entire year. Tours and events are the primary way used to educate the public on the history of the home which also creates interest by the general public.

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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 92
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 90.3%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: $21.16 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 22nd 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: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: -29.8%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.32; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.7%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -12.4% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -3.9% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 90.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $162K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $29K · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 42 of 43 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 59/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.