The Tilghman Volunteer Fire Company Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521069228
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Tilghman, MD, USA
Phone
4108862101
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$634,735
Expenses
$467,776
Assets
$3,828,090
Liabilities
$367,709

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JESSE GOTTLEIB (President)
  • DEBBY SWEET (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • AARON LOMAX (Trustee)
  • HERMAN J HARRISON (Trustee)
  • JESSE GOTTLEIB (President)

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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To provide emergency ambulance service and fire protection on a volunteer basis to tilghman island, talbot county, md and surrounding communities.

What it reported doing in 2025

Emergency services (fire, rescue & medical): tilghman volunteer fire company, inc. Provides fire, rescue & emergency medical services on a volunteer basis to residents of tilghman, md and surrounding areas as requested.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 67% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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 - 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: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 77
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 68.3%; rating input score 68
  • Program expense ratio: 90.7%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: $307.73 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 93; 93rd 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; 64th 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: 26.3%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.18; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 68.3% of revenue deployed · 90.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $424K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2012 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 35/100.