Kenosha History Center
Legal name: Kenosha County Historical Society Inc Kenosha History Center
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 391092037
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Kenosha, WI, United States
- Phone
- (262) 654-5770
- Rating
- 66
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,288,440
- Expenses
- $266,329
- Assets
- $2,447,717
- Liabilities
- $12,631
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
14 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- KURT JORGENSEN (Vice President)
- JOHN O'DAY (President)
Highest reported compensation
- CHRIS ALLEN (Executive Dir.): $62,162 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The Kenosha History Center collects and preserves artifacts, records and information vital to understanding the history of the County's social, cultural, ethnic and industrial heritage since its settlement. The Center uses these materials, acting alone or in collaboration with other citizens and organizations, to disseminate knowledge of our collective local history through its museum, historic sites, research and outreach and publication programs for the benefit of the community and its visitors.
What it reported doing in 2024
Historical society and museum - educational purpose of the preserving and promoting the history and heritage of the Kenosha County area and its people.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 80% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- 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
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 43
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 69
- Sustainability: 82
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 17.5%; rating input score 18
- Program expense ratio: 71%; rating input score 71
- Fundraising efficiency: $107.5 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 87; 87th 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 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 79.3%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.19; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 23.3%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -2.7% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 9.2% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 9.2% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 17.5% of revenue deployed · 71% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $189K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $62K · 14 people listed
- Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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: Mission deployment rate scored 18/100.
- High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 8 not reported.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.