Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
450397662
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2025
Location
Medora, ND, US
Phone
701-623-4444
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$18,334,928
Expenses
$13,696,645
Assets
$107,764,861
Liabilities
$9,834,340

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

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Randy Hatzenbuhler (President (Left Oct))
  • Clarence Sitter (Chief Executive Officer)

Highest reported compensation

  • Randy Hatzenbuhler (President (Left Oct)): $275,404 total reported compensation
  • Clarence Sitter (Chief Executive Officer): $247,310 total reported compensation
  • Joe Wiegand (Theodore Roosevelt Repriso): $216,521 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation's mission is to PRESERVE the experience of the badlands, the historic character of Medora and the values and heritage of Theodore Roosevelt and Harold Schafer; PRESENT opportunities for our guests to be educated and inspired through interpretive programs, museums and attractions that focus on the Old West, our patriotic heritage, and the life of Theodore Roosevelt in the Badlands; SERVE the traveling public, providing for their comfort while visiting historic Medora, the Badlands and Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

What it reported doing in 2025

The Organization educates visitors about the historical importance of the Medora area through the operation of museums, shows, and a musical. The Medora Musical is a seasonal historical and patriotic performing arts program and is the single largest program in support of the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation's primary exempt purpose. In 2025, the Medora Musical educated, informed, and entertained approximately 109,260 guests. To help serve and provide for the comfort of the traveling public, a variety of food service outlets are operated, most notably the Pitchfork Steak Fondue. Volunteers are a critical part of making operations successful in Medora. During 2025, 694 individuals filled 836 operational volunteer slots to help keep everything open and operating, serving for approximately 34,142 hours.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 53
  • Transparency & Controls: 88
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 73
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 50.4%; rating input score 50
  • Program expense ratio: 68.7%; rating input score 69
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.5 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 25.3%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.87; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.2%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.3% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 50.4% of revenue deployed · 68.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $9.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $275K · 27 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $12.7M reported
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 50/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.