National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
260203614
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2018
Location
Saint Paul, MN, USA
Phone
6516811566
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Parks and Playgrounds

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$352,174
Expenses
$521,212
Assets
$230,042
Liabilities
$26,208

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Tom Irvine (Executive Director)
  • Andrew Miller (Board President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Tom Irvine (Executive Director): $87,600 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation (NPLSF) exists to provide financial support for projects and programs that preserve the natural resources and cultural heritage of the five Lake Superior national parks: Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Grand Portage National Monument, Isle Royale National Park, Keweenaw National Historical Park, and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Together with the National Park Service and affiliated tribal nations, we work to conserve and restore Lake Superior's water quality and ecological health, with a special focus on moose habitat; support inclusive cultural interpretation and education through programs for youth, curriculum, and support of cultural events; improve park infrastructure and visitor experiences by working to raise support for projects such as staff housing; and serve as an active voice for the long-term sustainability of our parks so they can be enjoyed by future generations.

What it reported doing in 2025

Other programs: NPLSF led multiple effective communications efforts to improve public awareness and collaboration among park partners. Our Lake Superior Podcast continues to inspire and inform thousands across the region about issues impacting our parks and lake. We also advanced park-specific communication efforts including securing resources for a major planning process at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore to coordinate volunteer efforts and forming a Heritage Council for the many partners at Isle Royale engaged in historic preservation. Across Lake Superior's five national parks we also supported smaller projects, such as lighthouse renovations and tours, to maintain the unique features of our parks and engage the public.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 95% 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

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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 13
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 84.7%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $15.33 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 15th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -48%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.44; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.8%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.4% per year; rating input score 0; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 84.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $442K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $88K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 24 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 48/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 22/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 21/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.