Whippany Railway Museum

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
222142291
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Whippany, NJ, USA
Phone
9733018929
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Museum, Museum Activities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$159,779
Expenses
$147,056
Assets
$1,450,017
Liabilities
$3,211

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STEVEN P HEPLER (PRESIDENT)
  • JOSEPH F KRYGOSKI (VICE PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • STEVEN P HEPLER (PRESIDENT)
  • JOSEPH F KRYGOSKI (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • PAUL R TUPACZEWSKI (SECRETARY)

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

The organization's primary exempt purpose is to educate the public about, and create an interest in railroads and railroading, both historical and modern. This broad purpose includes model railroading, the relationship between railroads and the major industries that they serve, and to a much lesser extent, other modes of transportation.the organization's primary exempt purpose is accomplished through:1. The acquisition, restoration, and display of railroad-related historical and current items, as well as an indoor and outdoor operating model railroad.the scope of the primary exhibit collection also includes historical and current items related to major industries that are served by railroads (the coal industry, the farming industry, etc).the museum has also dedicated a very small portion of its indoor exhibit space to historical passenger ocean liners and the shipping industry.2. Theme and antique excursion train rides from the museum's site at whippany, New Jersey

What it reported doing in 2025

Theme and antique excursion train rides from the museum's site at whippany, New Jersey to roseland, New Jersey.theme trains feature "the easter bunny or "santa claus" talking to the children and giving them toys, coloring books, or other small gifts.antique train rides feature the use of an antique or historical piece of railroad equipment (cabooses, locomotives, passenger cars, etc.)while on site, the public is encouraged to come inside and visit the museum.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 89% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.7%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 81.2%; rating input score 81
  • 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: 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: 8%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.86; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.2% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.9% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.7% of revenue deployed · 81.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $119K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 18 of 18 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2017 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 53/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 48/100.