Prairie Historical Society Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 466017308
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Madison, SD, USA
- Phone
- 6052563644
- Rating
- 88
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Historical Societies & Historic Preservation
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $626,804
- Expenses
- $791,578
- Assets
- $1,455,257
- Liabilities
- $11,772
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- FARON WAHL (CEO)
- MIKE TAMMEN (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- FARON WAHL (CEO): $58,895 total reported compensation
- MISTY YOUNG (CFO): $15,288 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To establish, maintain, endow, perpetuate, and carry on, in lake county, South Dakota, a charitable and educational enterprise, specifically the operation of a historical municipality for non profit purposes with associated activities.
What it reported doing in 2024
Activities are for the preservation and expansion of the living prairie village museum.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 75% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
- 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 99
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 72
- Sustainability: 34
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 98.6%; rating input score 99
- Fundraising efficiency: $152.78 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 90; 90th 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: Limited
- 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: 3 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -26.3%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.84; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 9.4%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 98.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 3 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $780K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $59K · 11 people listed
- Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.