Houston County Historical Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
411423548
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Caledonia, MN, USA
Phone
5077253884
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies & Historic Preservation

Reported finances

Revenue
$89,105
Expenses
$44,566
Assets
$3,257,529
Liabilities
$1,000

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SHIRLEY JOHNSON (PRESIDENT)
  • DEBORAH WRAY (VICE PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • SHIRLEY JOHNSON (PRESIDENT)
  • DEBORAH WRAY (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • RICHARD CORDES (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

See schedule o

What it reported doing in 2024

This year there were 2,096 visitors to various museums, including 63 new researchers. The visitors came from 25 different states and 3 foreign countries. This also includes visitors from 58 Minnesota cities, 26 Wisconsin cities, and 18 Iowa cities. Volunteers received and responded to 326 phone calls and 310 emails. Volunteers contributed a total of 4,283 hours. 56 individuals donated artifacts this year, adding to the society's collections that are available to the 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 99% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 64
  • Sustainability: 80
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 65.6%; rating input score 66
  • Program expense ratio: 92.9%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 50%; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 73.09; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -18.1% per year; rating input score 0; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.2% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 65.6% of revenue deployed · 92.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $45K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 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: 5 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 37/100.