Pueblo Railway Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
870694204
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Pueblo, CO, USA
Phone
7195441773
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Museum, Museum Activities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$110,361
Expenses
$83,944
Assets
$1,295,080
Liabilities
$317,189

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Gerald J Dandurand (President (deceased))
  • Paul Brown (Vice President/Executive Director)

People named in this filing

  • Gerald J Dandurand (President (deceased))
  • Paul Brown (Vice President/Executive Director)
  • David Dandurand (Finance Officer)

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 Foundation operates the Pueblo Railway Museum as part of its mission to preserve, display and operate historic railroad equipment. Its mission includes interpreting the history of railroading in Pueblo, and educating future generations through the use of the equipment and artifacts in the museum's collection, and the use of educational materials produced by museum volunteers.

What it reported doing in 2025

Since 2020, the Foundation has benefited from the good fortune and generosity of one of its members. This member wishes to donate common stock to charity, and has chosen the Pueblo Railway Foundation as the charity. IRS rules state that when stock is donated to a 501(c)3 organization, the donor is not required to pay capital gain tax on the increased value of the stock. The Foundation can then convert this stock to usable funds, also without paying capital gains because of its 501(c)3 status. The donor of the stock has stipulated that the proceeds are to be used to fund security improvements, capital asset purchases, and capital improvement projects which substantially improve the Foundation's operations and overall presence. The bulk of these funds support the Foundation's D Street Station project, which will develop the property surrounding the Foundation's restoration shop on D Street by expanding the railyard and support a future train depot building. This "D Street Station" will become the main entry point for our railfans during the Museum's public events.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 61% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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.
  • 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 46
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 62
  • Sustainability: 72
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 46.2%; rating input score 46
  • Program expense ratio: 60.8%; rating input score 61
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 75%; rating input score 75; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 23.9%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 15.43; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.24; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 46.2% of revenue deployed · 60.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 4 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $51K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 43 of 43 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 46/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 15/100.