Pony Express Historical Association Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 436071676
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2019
- Location
- Saint Joseph, MO, USA
- Phone
- 8162328206
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Historical Societies & Historic Preservation
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $230,835
- Expenses
- $251,077
- Assets
- $5,537,814
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
7 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Christian Mengel (Board Vice President)
- Libby Waltemath (Board President)
People named in this filing
- Gary Chilcote (Museum Director)
- Teresa Peters (Board Treasurer)
- Mike Harris (Board Member)
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
The mission of the Pony Express Historical Association is to interpret the early history and development of Saint Joseph, MO from the days of the Pony Express and Jesse James to the 1920's using authentic artifacts in the building where these events actually occurred.
What it reported doing in 2025
The primary purpose of the Pony Express Historical Association is to operate Patee House Museum and the Jesse James Home as historically accurate, educational, and interesting museums where people of all ages can learn and have fun. 11,009 visitors toured Patee House and the Jesse James Home in 2024. Visitors came from 50 out of 50 states and 28 foreign countries. Patee House is a National Historic Landmark for its role as the Pony Express headquarters and its service as the Provost Marshal's office during the Civil War. Further more Patee House contains an 1860's steam locomotive, stagecoach, a working vintage carousel, and much more all inside the block-square, four-story brick building. The house where the infamous outlaw Jesse James was killed now stands on the grounds of Patee House. Inside there are exhibits explaining the life and death of Jesse, including artifacts from the grave, removed during the exhumation in 1995. The building is also on the National Register of Historic Places. CODE 900099
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 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 76
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 82
- Sustainability: 55
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 89.8%; rating input score 90
- Program expense ratio: 74.9%; rating input score 75
- Fundraising efficiency: $2.12 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -8.8%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 22.06; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -0.4% per year; rating input score 0; 20th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 89.8% of revenue deployed · 74.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $188K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
- Consistency: 43 of 43 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 10/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.