Railways to Yesterday Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237030955
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023, Form 990-EZ 2009
Location
Allentown, PA, USA
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard

Reported finances

Revenue
$221,945
Expenses
$117,269
Assets
$2,175,765
Liabilities
$10,804

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KEITH BRAY (DIRECTOR PRESIDENT DEC 2024)
  • JOEL SALOMON (PRESIDENT UNTIL DEC 2024)

People named in this filing

  • FRED WALTER (DIRECTOR)
  • HENRY LONG (DIRECTOR)
  • KEITH BRAY (DIRECTOR PRESIDENT DEC 2024)

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 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Preservation of railway history. Providing a living history museum dedicated to historic trolley cars

What it reported doing in 2023

Railways to yesterday operates a living history musuem that is open to the public on weekends from june through october. The museum was open 116 days and approximately 7,182 visitors attended during 2024. The museum has restored approximately 14 vintage trolley cars and 13 related conveyances. The museum is currently restoring or storing an additional 10 cars. Special events are held in october, november and december. Santas trolley, the polar bear express and an easter event added in 2014 are particularly attractive to children. This is an all volunteer organization.

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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. 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: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 85
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 53.1%; rating input score 53
  • Program expense ratio: 92.3%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $534.39 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 96; 96th 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: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 47.2%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 18.55; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 53.1% of revenue deployed · 92.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $108K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2023
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 53/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.