Washington County Historical Society Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
396094332
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
West Bend, WI, USA
Phone
2623354678
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies & Historic Preservation

Reported finances

Revenue
$717,711
Expenses
$607,203
Assets
$2,454,791
Liabilities
$42,903

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STEVEN STUCKEY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • JOE ZAREMBA (PRESIDENT)
  • JOHNATHAN SCHULZ (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • STEVEN STUCKEY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $98,469 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Washington county historical societys mission is to forge meaningful connections across generations to Washington countys hard-working legacy.

What it reported doing in 2025

The organization is a not-for-profit educational institution dedicated to preserving the history and culture of west bend, Wisconsin, through the collection of atrifact and archival materials, presentation of historical exhibits, as well as providing educational programs and publications. The historical society operates several historical sites in west bend.

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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 64
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 70.3%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 82.3%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.58 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 40; 40th 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 15.4%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.04; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.2%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.2% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 70.3% of revenue deployed · 82.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $500K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $98K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2012 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 40/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.