Minnesota Dairy Initiative Southcentral Region

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
411821151
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Waconia, MN, USA
Phone
9522409993
Rating
58
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,009
Expenses
$34,323
Assets
$43,566
Liabilities
$8,859

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Karen Johnson (President)
  • Seena Glessing (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • Karen Johnson (President)
  • Seena Glessing (Vice President)
  • Pam Uhlenkamp (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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To provide education and support to dairy farmers to help them make good business decisions for their farms

What it reported doing in 2025

In 2025 our program focused on the educational aspect of helping dairy farmers make smart decisions for their businesses. We hosted events with speakers and discussion topics on labor law changes and compliance strategies financial opportunities for successful dairy operations innovative approaches to optimizing facilities and enhancing overall farm productivity and challenges and solutions to farming with family. These events provide dairy producers with opportunities to learn more about the topics and how it applies to their farm and also provides the opportunity to network with other dairy producers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 100% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 43% for direct work, and 57% for grants.

The verdict

MIXED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 58
  • Accountability: 24
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 97.2%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 0%; rating input score 0; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -242.9%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.27; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.2; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -19.5% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -57.9% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -17.1% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 97.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 7 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 39 of 40 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 11/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.