Iowa State Fair Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 421376689
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2019–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Des Moines, IA, USA
- Phone
- 5152623111
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Fairs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $7,057,376
- Expenses
- $10,272,141
- Assets
- $23,827,268
- Liabilities
- $3,139,864
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
18 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Peter Cownie (Executive Director)
- Darwin Gaudian (President)
- Curtis Claeys (Vice President)
- Wendy Wintersteen (President of Iowa State University)
Highest reported compensation
- Peter Cownie (Executive Director): $295,834 total reported compensation
- Robin Taylor (Assistant Director): $163,269 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Raise funds for renovation and preservation of the historic Iowa State Fairgrounds by soliciting gifts, donations, bequests and grants to help finance infrastructure projects to guarantee the Fair continues to be Iowa's great celebration, a salute to the state's best in ag, industry, entertainment and achievement.
What it reported doing in 2024
The top program service project expenses were itemized pursuant to instruction. The remaining program service expenditures consisted of promotion and advertising expense and smaller renovation and maintenance expense to the State Fairgrounds. See Part IX for an itemization of other program services expenditures
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 85% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
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 expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 82
- Transparency & Controls: 79
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 34
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 76.3%; rating input score 76
- Fundraising efficiency: $3.59 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
- 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -45.6%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.32; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 4.5%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -9.3% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 16.5% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 76.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $7.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $296K · 18 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $886K reported
- Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
- Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 4 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 11/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 53/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 57/100.