Icelandic Roots
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
To educate, promote and preserve an interest and knowledge in the history of Iceland and its people.
- Income
- $149,295
- Spending
- $63,605
- Reserves
- 85.5 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- fees for its services, 76%
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 85% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, under $250k).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 85.5 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 0% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 57% of income.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
This organization files the short tax form, which does not ask about boards, policies or audits. That is normal for a small charity and is not a mark against it.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (1)
- $53,054 spent. The team at Icelandic Roots continues to make a real mark within the Icelandic Community with our free services, scholarships, education, social media, outreach, and our member database of genealogical and historical information. It is very rewarding to be a part of such a wonderful organization and team of dedicated volunteers.Free services:* 4,800 people follow the IR Blog* 17,668 people like the public IR Facebook page and the reach is often over 68,000.* 300 people are on our IR Member Facebook Group* 338 followers on Pinterest with an average of 6,100 monthly views* 2,200 followers on Instagram* 582 subscribers to our YouTube channel. We added 36 new videos in 2024 to make a total now of 110 videos on our YouTube channel including our exclusive Members Only playlist with 63 videos.* 309 subscribers to our Event Calendar with 10,200 average views* 7,800 downloads on Podcast and published 15 podcasts in 2024.* We posted 105 informative blog posts in 2024.* A Public newsletter is sent out every other Sunday. A Membership newsletter is sent out at least every other Sunday and at other intervals with links to members-only educational seminars.We do extra research and translations as requested and charge for these mission-related program services when appropriate.The Leadership Team continues with 9 people to mentor and coordinate a growing group of volunteers.Icelandic Roots Database:* We have 655 paid subscribers plus 80 volunteers for the organization having access to the online IR Database and all the community activities and offerings.* The total number of individual person genealogical records in our database as of December 31, 2024 was 831,603 and also contained 3,259 sources, 56,193 media items, 3,035 cemeteries, and 611,022 notes.60 major volunteers take care of many items:IT, genealogy, history, cartography, translations, photos, social media, and special features. 23 of these volunteers do most of the work and are part of our SHARED email inbox, in which we sent or received more than 15,000 emails in 2024. This does not include communications sent to us via other channels.We have an awesome IT team who maintain the genealogy database with security and cutting-edge software. They also keep our public website updated with fresh content.- IR Volunteers presented two days of genealogy workshops at the annual Deuce of August celebration in northeast North Dakota and one day in Gimli, Manitoba, Canada at the Icelandic Festival of Manitoba. (Islendingadagurinn)- IR Volunteers met with community leaders in two localities in Iceland to discuss preparations for 2025 ceremonies honoring important emigration ports. We also met with the new President of Iceland to discuss our mission and our 2025 trip. - We began the Icelandic Roots Book Club in 2022 with our first guest speaker and author, the First Lady of Iceland, Eliza Reid. This continues to be held once per month for 7 months each year.- We created a dedicated Writing Team with professional, published authors and they are writing many of our blog posts and working together to improve their writing skills.- We created a 'Membership' Team Leader, managing Samtal, Book Club, the Writing Team, and the Fitness Challenge.- We have published five books - Three children's books: Gudridur's Saga, Mundi Boy of Iceland's West Fjords, and Thor. Also, The Icelandic Emigration Journey and Stories, Sagas, and Captivating Tales.- Samtal Hour continues every other Monday with a dedicated following of about 40 people per session. In 2024 there were 24 Samtal Hour sessions covering a variety of topics.- 22 Member Training videos were put on our YouTube channel and we have added monthly Roots Tips sessions where people can ask questions about the database.- A new Event Calendar was created on the public website to advertise all our events and offerings with 50 total events listed for 2024 with 8 of them for the Public and 42 for members.- Our website continues to be updated and new information added.Our President and one of our team leaders have each been honored to receive the Knights Cross of the Icelandic Order of the Falcon in Iceland. This is the highest award bestowed upon people for their contributions to Icelandic culture and heritage and for the people of Iceland for all the volunteerism through the Icelandic communities and projects.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 30, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since August 2014.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 7, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.