Historic Arnolds Park Inc

The information for Historic Arnolds Park Inc is as of the organization's most recent filing in December 2019. This organization is located in Arnolds Park, IA. It has been in existence for 35 years, following its founding in 1984.

Organization Classification

The IRS classifies organizations according to the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) system. The NTEE system helps the IRS assign a 3-character code to each organization to describe the organization's activities.

Historic Arnolds Park Inc's NTEE code is A50. The "A" tells us that the organization is classified along with Arts, Culture & Humanities. The "50" tells us that the organization is a Museum. The NTEE describes Museums as organizations that acquire, preserve, research, exhibit and provide for the educational use of works of art, objects or artifacts related to the study of zoology, biology, botany, mineralogy, geology, history, archeology, science and technology.

Every organization is also governed by a specific section of the Internal Revenue Code. The most common type is a 501(c)(3) organization. However, there are actually 29 different types of organizations that are identified by the Internal Revenue Code. This organization happens to be a 501(c)(3) organization. The IRS describes these organizations as those engaged in Religious, Educational, Charitable, Scientific, Literary, Public Safety, Amateur Sports, or Prevention of Cruelty to Children or Animals work.

Perhaps the most accurate way to get a sense of what the organization hopes to achieve is by looking at its mission. The mission of Historic Arnolds Park Inc is to provide and preserve family fun in the Iowa Great Lakes area through the operation of its historical amusement park, excursion boat, and maritime museum.

Program Areas

Program Area 1: The Arnolds Park Amusement Park operates and preserves historic rides, attractions, shops, and lake side properties in the Iowa Great Lakes area for public use and enjoyment. This includes sponsoring events, concerts and attractions that are free and open to the public.

Program Area 2: This program works to collect and preserve maritime artifacts and collectibles associated with the Iowa Great Lakes area and to display them to the public in a maritime museum that is open year-round. Additionally, an official Iowa Welcome Center is operated within the museum and had over 65,000 visitors during the year.

Program Area 3: The organization operates and preserves the historic Queen II excursion boat in the Iowa Great Lakes area for the public's use and enjoyment.

Organization Staffing

Historic Arnolds Park Inc is run by Jill Harms, who is the President. The organization has 207 employees, none of whom are paid more than $100k per year (according to the organization's most recent 990 tax filing). Supporting the paid staff are 15 volunteers.

Board Governance

Historic Arnolds Park Inc is a well-governed non-profit organization. It has a total of nine voting members, all of whom are independent and do not have potential conflicts of interest. The organization has not delegated its management to an outside firm and has documented board and committee meetings. It also has a conflict of interest policy, requires disclosure of conflicts, and has a document retention policy. Furthermore, the organization substantiates and reviews leadership and officer salaries, and provides copies of the 990 to the board prior to filing. Although the organization does not have a written whistleblower policy, its other governance procedures indicate that it is committed to responsible and ethical management.

Organization Growth

Overall, Historic Arnolds Park Inc has grown significantly over the past five years. Contributions & Grants Received, Program Service Revenue, Investment Income, Other Revenue, Total Revenue, Employee Salaries, and Total Employees have all seen an increase from 2014 to 2019. Total Expenses and Total Volunteers have seen a decrease over the same period. This indicates that the organization has managed to increase its revenue while keeping its expenses under control.