North Dakota Humanities Council

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
450318487
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Bismarck, ND, USA
Phone
7012553360
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,099,524
Expenses
$801,919
Assets
$1,103,933
Liabilities
$481,402

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Brenna Gerhardt (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Brenna Gerhardt (Executive Director): $134,868 total reported compensation
  • Nicholas Glass (Financial Director): $79,791 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 North Dakota Humanities Council invests in the people of North Dakota by creating and sustaining humanities programs that provides its participants with a better understanding of the past, a better analysis of the present, and a better vision for the future.

What it reported doing in 2024

WE THE PEOPLE: The We the People The Citizen and the Constitution Program (WTP) promotes civic competence and responsibility among the nation's upper elementary and secondary students. The curriculum is an innovative course of instruction on the history and principles of the United States constitutional democratic republic. The We the People print textbooks' interactive strategies, relevant content, and simulated congressional hearings make teaching and learning exciting for students and teachers. NDHC hosted one teacher institute and one state competition that reached an estimate of 220 students and 17 teachers.

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 88% 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

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: 50
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 57
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 42.5%; rating input score 42
  • Program expense ratio: 57.5%; rating input score 57
  • Fundraising efficiency: $30.22 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 27.1%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.38; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.44; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 26.8%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 42.5% of revenue deployed · 57.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 10 filed program accomplishments · $461K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $135K · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 46 of 46 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • 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: Mission deployment rate scored 42/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 57/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 53/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 18/100.