Volunteer Firefighters' Benefit Association of Minnesota
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 410708578
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Detroit Lakes, MN, USA
- Phone
- 2188503101
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $359,290
- Expenses
- $172,639
- Assets
- $2,493,623
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- TOM LINHOFF (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- STEVE SPAETH (SECRETARY): $32,160 total reported compensation
- TOM LINHOFF (PRESIDENT): $6,440 total reported compensation
- GREGORY TAYLOR (TREASURER): $6,000 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To create, establish and maintain funds available for the relief and support of sick, injured or disabled firefighters and to provide accidental death or dismemberment benefits to members of the association.
What it reported doing in 2025
The organization provides life and disability insurance for members and volunteer firefighters in Minnesota.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Membership-supported. 73% of the money available for current operations came from membership dues.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 77% for direct work, and 23% for member benefits.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 65
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 82
- Sustainability: 81
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 70.6%; rating input score 71
- Program expense ratio: 75.5%; rating input score 76
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 51.9%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 14.44; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 25.8%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 70.6% of revenue deployed · 75.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $130K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $32K · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules
- Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
- 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.