Staples Fire Department Relief Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237380295
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2014
Location
Staples, MN, USA
Phone
2188945520
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$108,326
Expenses
$77,932
Assets
$862,809
Liabilities
$606,520

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BRANDON BRUSEWITZ (PRESIDENT)
  • AUSTIN REDEMSKE (TRUSTEE/CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • JEF CICHOS (TREASURER): $400 total reported compensation
  • BLAKE GERARD (SECRETARY): $300 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Firefighter support and pension for volunteer firefighters

What it reported doing in 2025

Community services - fire prevention education; support fire dept through donations and fundraisers for the purchase of fire-fighting equipment & supplies; provide pension benefit for fire dept members

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Member-benefit provider. The nonprofit used 83% of its reported program spending for member benefits.

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 liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 50
  • Sustainability: 68
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.2%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 90.8%; rating input score 91
  • 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: 77.8%; rating input score 78; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 28.1%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 11.07; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.7; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.9%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72.2% of revenue deployed · 90.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 9 board members independent · 1 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $71K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $400 · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 18 of 18 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2015 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 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.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 34/100.