Vadnais Heights Firefighters' Relief Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
411370203
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2017
Forms available
Form 990 2017
Location
Vadnais Heights, MN, USA
Phone
6512046030
Rating
48
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fire Prevention

Reported finances

Revenue
$597,608
Expenses
$76,591
Assets
$203,374
Liabilities
$34,077

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2017. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Mike Bigelbach (President)
  • Robert Weier (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Robert Treft (Treasurer): $1,800 total reported compensation
  • Doug Gerlach (Secretary): $1,000 total reported compensation
  • Mike Bigelbach (President): $750 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2017. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

See part I, Line 1

What it reported doing in 2017

Pension Benefits

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 84% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 53% for direct work, and 47% for member benefits.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue comfortably covers expenses. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 11
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 55
  • Sustainability: 80
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 3.5%; rating input score 3
  • Program expense ratio: 27.4%; rating input score 27
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: 70%; rating input score 70; 13th 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: 87.2%; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.66; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.6%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -25.1% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 30.2% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -20.3% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 3.5% of revenue deployed · 27.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 10 board members independent · 3 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $21K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $2K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2013 to 2017
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 3/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 27/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 40/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.