San Juan County Historical Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
840567284
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023, Form 990-PF 2022
Location
Silverton, CO, USA
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies, Related Historical Activities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$496,017
Expenses
$336,402
Assets
$2,315,205
Liabilities
$23

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

People named in this filing

  • Steve Rich (Member)
  • Patty Dailey (Member)
  • Ken Balleweg (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 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Education of public on local history and preservation of historical buildings and mining sites.

What it reported doing in 2023

The San Juan County Historical Society (SJCHS) was established in 1964 as a Non-profit 501(c)(3) Colorado Corporation for preserving the history of San Juan County, Colorado.Our mining heritage has been the heart of San Juan Countys development. Many service industries were instrumental in the success of the mining industry including the railroad for transportation of the ores, Otto Mears toll road system, the mining of precious metals (from numerous mines, the mills and smelters, boarding houses) and the support towns that followed the big strikes, which provided employment, supplies, housing, cultural opportunities, and entertainment.The Town of Silverton, the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and the Mayflower Mill have each been designated a National Historical Landmark. The Old Hundred Boarding House, owned by SJCHS, is on the Colorado list of Historic Places. Properties owned by the San Juan Historical Society include the Mayflower Mill the Little Nation Mill (located at Howardsville), the Silverton Northern Engine House (housing the famous 315 narrow gauge steam locomotive), the oldest caboose in the state of Colorado, the Casey Jones, and the Silverton Power Station.The Historical Society operates the Mining Heritage Center, the 1902 County Jail Museum in Silverton, the Mayflower Mill Tour, the Allen Nossaman Memorial Archive, and the Silverton Power Station.Work has begun on the Silverton Railroad Historical Park located between the Silverton Northern Engine House and the Silverton Depot.The SJCHS collaborates with the Hillside Cemetery to preserve the stories and the dignity of those buried in our cemetery. Additionally, the SJCHS works in partnership to stabilize and preserve buildings, such as the Old Hundred Boarding House and other historic structures. The SJCHS has received numerous awards from History Colorado and has received two National Honor Awards from the National Trust for Historic Preservation for their work.Partnerships and collaborations with Colorado and national historical organizations and private foundations help to fund some of the major renovation projects. However, many projects and daily operations are funded by visitor fees, donations and San Juan County Historical Society Membership subscriptions.

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

SUPPORTED - 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 some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 80
  • Growth: NotEnoughData

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.8%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 85.3%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $22.64 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 18th 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: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • 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: 32.2%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.88; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: Limited
  • Asset growth: Limited

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.8% of revenue deployed · 85.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $287K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 26 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.