Wings of the North
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 411899807
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2014
- Location
- Eden Prairie, MN, USA
- Phone
- 9527466100
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Historical Societies, Related Historical Activities
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $437,224
- Expenses
- $431,309
- Assets
- $516,238
- Liabilities
- $75,131
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- STEVE BRUSS (PRESIDENT)
People named in this filing
- STEVE BRUSS (PRESIDENT)
- BOB JASPERSON (VICE PRESIDE)
- GARY KRIEG (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
A non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and presenting aviation history.
What it reported doing in 2025
Wings of the north educates the public about aviation history.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 86% 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 85
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 76
- Sustainability: 42
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 98%; rating input score 98
- Program expense ratio: 92.1%; rating input score 92
- 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: 1.4%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.2; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -1.3% per year; rating input score 0; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 98% of revenue deployed · 92.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $397K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2010 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.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 39/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 46/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.