Mid-continent Railway Historical Society Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
391023326
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
North Freedom, WI, USA
Phone
6085224261
Rating
65
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$328,131
Expenses
$171,071
Assets
$15,080,830
Liabilities
$76,705

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ANDREW SPINELLI (PRESIDENT)
  • JEFFREY HUTTENBURG (VICE-PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • ANDREW SPINELLI (PRESIDENT)
  • JEFFREY HUTTENBURG (VICE-PRESIDENT)
  • COLIN O'BRIEN (SECRETARY)

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

Our mission is to educate the public by recreating as accurately as possible the golden years of railroads, from the civil war days until after world war ii, by operating a living railroad with vintage equipment from those times. We will collect, preserve, restore, and operate artifacts from those times so as to inform the public about the development of railroading from wooden equipment to steel, and from steam power to internal combustion. We will give our visitors a firsthand experience on this equipment. We will do our best to accurately portray this golden age.

What it reported doing in 2024

To educate the public by offering educational demonstration rides for museum visitors, offering special events centered on historic and seasonal themes, hosting guided tours of restored railcars and open houses showcasing ongoing restoration projects, and other learning opportunities that the society provides.the society continued its program services by 1) offering educational demonstration rides for museum visitors in its vintage railroad equipment, 2) providing tours through historic railroad equipment that has been restored or is undergoing restoration, 3) providing opportunities to learn historic railroad operating and maintenance practices through its volunteer training programs, by publishing information to the museum's publically available website and social media, as well as a member magazine and member newsletter. In 2024, mid-continent railway museum operated its historic trains on 108 days and welcomed 19,286 visitors for a one hour demonstration ride aboard the trains. Nearly 1,100 of those visitors came as part of school field trips, helping educators provide an immersive history lesson for their students.the society continues to improve its collection by advancing restoration work on numerous antique railcars and locomotives, including a 1907 steam locomotive, a 1902 sleeping car, an 1864 coach-baggage car, and a 1925 gas-electric motor car.to allow the continued future safe and reliable operations, the society is making significant investments in its 4-mile rail line, including a major rail replacement and line improvement program.

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

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 a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 32
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 86
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 17.1%; rating input score 17
  • Program expense ratio: 40%; rating input score 40
  • Fundraising efficiency: $83.03 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 47.9%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 88.16; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.9% per year; rating input score 0; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 17.1% of revenue deployed · 40% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $68K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $276K reported
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 17/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 40/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 50/100.