Prairie Energy Cooperative

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
421506645
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Clarion, IA, USA
Phone
515-532-2805
Rating confidence
Limited
Sector
Local Benevolent Life Insurance Associations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$34,548,486
Expenses
$32,651,323
Assets
$80,505,105
Liabilities
$38,655,524

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARION DENGER (PRESIDENT)
  • SCOTT HASTY (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • JOSHUA AMONSON (VICE PRESIDENT - PART YEAR)
  • TIM MARIENAU (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • KEN NOREM (DIR. OPERATIONS & ENGINEER): $245,025 total reported compensation
  • TIM MARIENAU (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $213,939 total reported compensation
  • STEVE JACKSON (OPERATIONS COORDINATOR): $175,622 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Prairie Energy Cooperative is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric distribution cooperative providing reliable electric service to rural members in north central Iowa.

What it reported doing in 2024

Provision of electric power to members located primarily in the rural areas of wright and hancock counties of the state of Iowa.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 92% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 57
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: Limited
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 5.5%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.47; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.48; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.9%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
  • Leadership: top reported pay $245K · 15 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $3.7M reported
  • Consistency: 12 of 12 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 15 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 55/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.