Strawbridge & Martha Wilson Young Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
823134313
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2022
Forms available
Form 990 2022, Form 990-EZ 2020, Form 990-T 2020
Location
Burnsville, NC, USA
Phone
8285360337
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
History Museums

Reported finances

Revenue
$98,493
Expenses
$112,845
Assets
$155,293
Liabilities
$149,838

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Geraldine Plato (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Geraldine Plato (CEO): $47,900 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To preserve the legacy of pioneer families who settled in the southern appalachian mountains. The organization provides examples of pioneer life as well as historical structures for visitors and for educating the public on pioneer life.

What it reported doing in 2022

The organization prioritizes hands-on educational experiences for people of all ages. Through historic tours, performances, festivals, and workshops. Visitors learn about the successes and challenges faced by early settlers carving out homesteads in the southern applalachian mountains. In 2022 family skill-based workshops, historic tours, and the Scary Saturdays Festival drew hundreds of visitors. High School apprentices worked on the farm, earned blacksmithing and participated in storytelling and traditional music.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 93% 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.

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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 95%; rating input score 95
  • Program expense ratio: 82.9%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: -14.6%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.38; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.96; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 42.4%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -28.1% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -9% per year; rating input score 0; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -7.3% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 95% of revenue deployed · 82.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $94K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $48K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2019 to 2022
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 48/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.