Minnesota Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
363336499
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Minneapolis, MN, USA
Phone
6122168624
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$313,512
Expenses
$397,257
Assets
$214,326
Liabilities
$29,515

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Penelope Hillemann (President)
  • Brett Day (Vice President)
  • Ross Willits (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Ross Willits (Executive Director): $80,016 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 preserve and promote bluegrass and old-time stringband music in and around the state of Minnesota, honoring tradition and encouraging innovation.

What it reported doing in 2024

Minnesota Bluegrass Magazine is a monthly magazine published by the Minnesota Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Association. It offers a comprehensive calendar of live music events and features stories of interest related to the organization's mission. It is a resource of music, playing, listening, and educational opportunities for our membership.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 66% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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: 90
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 18
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 84.5%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $17.25 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 54; 54th 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: 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: -26.7%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.54; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 20.1%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 15.4% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 84.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $335K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $80K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 11/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 54/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.