Warren County Historical Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237225203
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Indianola, IA, USA
Phone
5154026978
Rating
62
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$545,105
Expenses
$119,015
Assets
$1,921,072
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DEB LARRISON (President)
  • JERRY BEATTY (1st Vice President)
  • ANNETTE RATH (2nd Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • DEB LARRISON (President)
  • JUANITA OTT (Secretary)
  • JUDY RICHARDS (Treasurer)

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 collect, preserve and create interest in the cultural, political and economic heritage of warren county, Iowa.

What it reported doing in 2025

The society maintains a museum with artifacts that are related to Iowa and warren county, including historically significant cabin and church buildings on the grounds. The society also maintains a geneology library consisting of county records, books, and newspapers for geneological research. 3000 people visit the museum annually. The society hosts events on the grounds to increase interest in the history of warren county and the state of Iowa and supports the preservation of other old and historically significant sites in warren county.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 87% 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.

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 a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 23
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 93
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 17%; rating input score 17
  • Program expense ratio: 41.2%; rating input score 41
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • 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: 78.2%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 16.14; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 39.8% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 52.4% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 50.2% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 17% of revenue deployed · 41.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $49K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 15 of 16 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 17/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 41/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.