Museum of Danish America
Legal name: The Danish Immigrant Museum
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 421204613
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Elk Horn, IA, USA
- Phone
- (712) 764-7001
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Museum, Museum Activities
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,330,795
- Expenses
- $1,940,130
- Assets
- $11,824,606
- Liabilities
- $17,507
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
23 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- TOVA BRANDT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
- ERIK ANDERSEN (PRESIDENT)
- PHILIP LUND (VICE PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- TOVA BRANDT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $110,306 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
We are the national museum dedicated to the history, art, and culture of Denmark in the United States.
What it reported doing in 2024
These activities bring the museum's mission to its national audience and membership. Outreach to school groups and community members takes place at the museum's main building, the jens jensen prairie landscape park, bedstemor's house, and the genealogy & education center located on main street. Learners of all age participated in educational public programs through the year, including spark! Programs for elders and youth summer camps. In addition to onsite programs, museum staff engage constituents at public festivals, lectures and presentations, workshops, and receptions across the country. During the past fiscal year, museum staff interacted with live audience members in 26 events in 8 states, both in person and online. The museum also engaged audience members through internet-based and electronic media. Over 80,000 unique visitors came to the museum's website, over 7,500 people subscribe to the monthly e-newsletter, and more than 13,000 people follow the museum's facebook page.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 77% 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and revenue has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 63
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 76
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 72.6%; rating input score 73
- Program expense ratio: 61%; rating input score 61
- Fundraising efficiency: $5.25 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 18; 18th 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: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- 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: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 16.8%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.09; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 5.7%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -2.3% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 72.6% of revenue deployed · 61% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $110K · 23 people listed
- Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 18/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 49/100.