Northern Star Council

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
203000282
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Fort Snelling, MN, USA
Phone
6122312300
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$18,535,766
Expenses
$15,535,898
Assets
$27,299,387
Liabilities
$1,898,250

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

Leadership & pay

84 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOHN G PATTERSON (PRESIDENT)
  • PAUL KAUS (PRESIDENT-EL)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOHN R ANDREWS (SCOUT EXEC/E): $607,753 total reported compensation
  • COLLEEN BRAZIER (DEPUTY SCOUT): $193,313 total reported compensation
  • DOUGLAS PARISH (CFO): $182,104 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Northern star council prepares youth in a safe and inclusive environment to be leaders and individuals of strong character.

What it reported doing in 2024

Northern star council, boy scouts of america helps young people achieve their full potential by developing their self-confidence, leadership, respect, and a commitment to service through the following programs: -cub scouting (267 packs grades k-5) -scouts bsa (366 troops of boys and girls ages 10-18) -venturing (41 venture crews of boys and girls ages 14-21) - exploring (63 explorer posts in work site-based career exploration), and - community scouting (includes school field trips, lock-ins, retreats and camps offered to all youth across the communities served. In addition, northern star council special programs include: juvenile diversion program which targets first-time non-violent youth offenders; outreach program developed to effectively reach out to at-risk youth and youth of all ethnicities and cultures; and polaris which brings scouting programs to physically and developmentally challenged boys, girls, and adults with cognitive challenges.

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 95% 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 88
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.3%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 85.4%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.1 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 16.2%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.76; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.4%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.3% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.3% of revenue deployed · 85.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 76 of 76 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $13.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $608K · 84 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $169K reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 39/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.