Starr Burying Ground Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
066037723
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Groton, CT, USA
Phone
8604464110
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Cemeteries

Reported finances

Revenue
$124,457
Expenses
$89,510
Assets
$2,309,111
Liabilities
$3,300

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Sidney A Gardner (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Marilee Dull (Superintendent): $12,000 total reported compensation
  • Ronald Yuhas (Treasurer): $4,800 total reported compensation
  • Debra E Dickey (Secretary): $2,500 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Starr Burying Ground Association operates as a private cemetery in the town of Groton, Connecticut.

What it reported doing in 2024

Maintenance of burying grounds.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 71% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
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 revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 72
  • Sustainability: 75
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 82.9%; rating input score 83
  • 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: Limited
  • 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: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 28.1%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 25.8; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.7%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -10.1% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 82.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 3 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $74K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $12K · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.