Mississippi Park Connection

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
870786530
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
St Paul, MN, USA
Phone
6512918164
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Water Resource, Wetlands Conservation and Management

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,781,239
Expenses
$1,342,957
Assets
$5,629,863
Liabilities
$156,691

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Ellen Reed (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Ellen Reed (Executive Director): $138,385 total reported compensation
  • Anna Waugh (Assistant Director): $111,722 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 mission of the Mississippi Park Connection (MPC) is to strengthen the enduring connection between people and the Mississippi River by enriching the life of the river and the lives of all who experience the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (The National Park). MPC is a 501(c)(3) organization. Mississippi River Paddle Share, LLC, is wholly owned by MPC. MPC engages private citizens, public and private foundations, and industry sources to support the activities of the National Park Service and its partners to enhance the National Park and Mississippi River by: Raising funds to support the National Park's programs. Increasing awareness of the National Park and the Mississippi River. Providing community connection, expertise, and inspiration for the National Park.

What it reported doing in 2024

Youth Education: MPC supports the National Park's outdoor education and recreation programs for students throughout the community. MPC's outdoor and online youth education programs provide a fresh, hands-on approach to the ways learning can be integrated with the outdoors, empowering students to become avid learners, and enabling them to begin building a lifelong relationship with the river. Youth education remained a core component of MPC's mission in FY2025, with continued investment in programs that connect students to the Mississippi River through experiential learning. Programs such as Big River Journey saw strong participation, with over 1,300 students engaged in hands-on environmental education experiences. MPC also supported access to these programs through transportation scholarships and stipends for River Educators, helping reduce barriers for schools and communities. Staff participation in national learning networks and exposure to best practices such as visiting new education facilities and engaging in professional development further strengthened program quality and innovation. These efforts ensured that youth education programming remained impactful, accessible, and aligned with both environmental and community outcomes.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 70% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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.
  • 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 71
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 64.4%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 78.1%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.93 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 25th 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: 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: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 24.6%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.19; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 18.6%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.5% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 64.4% of revenue deployed · 78.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 6 filed program accomplishments · $1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $138K · 15 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $227K reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 44/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 59/100.