Hackensack Game Changers
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Provide project teams for the City of Hackensack MN to renovate, rejuvenate and beautify the town.
- Income
- $217,146
- Spending
- $113,496
- Spent on programs
- 99%
- Reserves
- -6.2 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 100%
- Employees
- 0
- Volunteers
- 50
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Fair: 55 out of 100. Higher than 25% of charities in its peer group (community improvement, under $250k).
Reserves
0 of 35Spendable reserves are negative: it owes or has committed more than it holds.
Debt
10 of 20It owes 43% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 48% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 45% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1599% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 90 out of 100. Higher than 81% of charities in its peer group (community improvement, under $250k).
Independent board
25 of 258 of 8 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
0 of 8Reports no written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, 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 (5)
- $26,814 spent. Snowflake Team: After MNDot invested in the reconstruction of the state highway that runs through town, this team raised money to add LED snowflake lights and banners on the new lamp posts. They had a starting balance of $3,742, raised $10,234 and spent $26,814 on the lights & banners. This left them a negative balance of $-12,838. They will continue their fundraising efforts to pay this back to the general fund. Serves all travelers on State 371.
- $54,718 spent. The Resilient Housing Team has been working since 2022 to bring housing to town. They purchased land in 2023 using a loan from Cass County Economic Development. They received a grant from the Blandin Foundation for $150,000, $101,871 of which was put towards the land loan. The interest, taxes and insurance on the land are their only expenses for '25 totaling $9718. They also received a $10,000 grant from the Initiative Foundation for a weatherization program and donated $45,000 from the Blandin Grant to the Hackensack Local Housing Trust Fund to provide match dollars for the upcoming weatherization program. They had a starting balance of $8,555 and an ending balance of $11,965. No program activity has commenced yet, so no persons have benefited yet on these projects.
- $8,783 spent. The sign team raised money in previous years to add a welcome sign on the south side of town, so they started the year with $6851. A new welcome sign for the north side and wayfinding signs were the projects for '25 so $3800 was raised which included a $800 grant from the Hackensack Lakes Area Community Foundation. The sign and installation expense was $8783 leaving $1868 remaining in their account. Appreciated by all who drive by on State 371.
- $21,517 spent. The remaining teams are described in Schedule O
- The purpose of this organization is to support the City of Hackensack through projects that beautify, renovate, rejuvenate properties, and add infrastructure, to serve residents and attract tourists, and other projects determined to enhance the City and surrounding area. We currently have 14 project teams. The 3 teams that had the most expenses were described in Part III of the 990. Other teams include: Community Garden: This garden is located on City Park property and includes 10 raised beds for residents who can't garden at home. In previous years, they have drilled a well. In 2025, they continued to fundraise to finish a shed to store garden tools & supplies. They received a seed grant for $150 and an HLACF grant for $800. Including the grants, they raised $2040.83 and spent $1512.06 to complete the shed and add fencing. They had a starting balance of $42.87 and an ending balance of $571.64. Beautification Team: The main activity of this team is to provide and maintain flowerpots around town. They received an $800 grant from the Hackensack Lakes Area Community Foundation as well as donations of $1522. They spent $711 on dirt and flowers. These flowers brighten the streets and shops for all locals and tourists to enjoy. Their starting balance was negative $18 and ending balance was $1592. Dog Park Team: This team started fundraising in 2021 and had the funds to create the 1-acre park in 2022. The city now mows it so there are minimal expenses for dog waste bags and meeting expenses. There was no fundraising in '25, just expenses of $101. They had a fund balance of $885 going into the year leaving them a balance of $784.27. We have no way to count the number of people visiting the park with their dogs but we know it is being enjoyed by many. Lucette Links: This is a disc golf course that was added to a city park in 2024. They fundraised to install the 9-hole course which was open for play in the fall of '24. They raised funds to expand the course from 9-18 holes in '25. They raised $2,720 and spent $3199 installing concrete & signage to expand the course. With their starting balance of $1200, they now have a fund balance of $800 There are currently 12-14 people meeting weekly indoors to learn the sport and be ready to play when weather permits. Neighbor Helping Neighbor: For the third year, over 50 volunteers gathered one weekend in May to rake yards, trim trees and do basic clean up chores for City residents who needed help. They had a starting balance of $548 so they did not fundraise in '25. They spent $215 on supplies, lunch and beverages for the crew leaving them with a balance of $333. Sports Courts Team: This team updated the tennis courts in '24 so they had a remaining balance of $5559.37. They added more fencing, benches, and equipment storage for a total expense of $5,465 leaving them a balance of $95. Lane Changers: This new team was created to find ways to thrive through the major road construction project that consumed Hackensack in '25. Several grants were received to fund the activities which included an informational email campaign to keep town updated on detours and progress. They also put up signage to help customers access the businesses that were affected. They fundraised for an advertising campaign to keep bringing people to town throughout the construction. A total of $11,245 was raised. Grants included $2,000 from Sourcewell to help with publication and dissemination of information, $5,000 from the Initiative Foundation to help businesses stripe their parking lots and get landscape design services for their store fronts that were changed, and $2,000 from the Initiative Foundation to hold a ribbon cutting ceremony in 2026. Total expenses were $3,457 so they have a remaining balance of $7,788. The email program has 545 subscribers; the signage benefited all travelers on state 371. The PINES team is collecting donations to add a solar array to senior center in town. They raised $5670 this year and had no expenses. The Marketing Team is not currently very active but they did receive $160 in donations, no expenses. The Children's Fishing Contest team just finished it's 28th season, they became a team of our organization in 2025. They raised $8075 in donations and spent $7361 in food and prizes giving them a remaining balance of $713. They had 912 kids participate with about 60 volunteers. The Park's Team will merge with the sports courts team in 26. They are accepting donations to renovate the City park playground. They raised $10,400 in 2025 with no expenditures yet. General Fund Expenses: We pay for Director's and Officer's insurance, facility rental fees for large meetings, and misc office supplies for a total of $1737. We had a starting balance of $13,855 and received donations and interest totaling $979 leaving us an ending balance of 13,097. We have a conflict-of-interest policy that is updated annually. We are only 5 years old so at this point, we have retained all our documents. We have a policy manual that includes a section on document retention. It is difficult to determine the number of people we serve because many of our projects are available to anyone who would like to enjoy them. The population of Hackensack is around 300 which grows in summer to accommodate a large population of summer cabin owners and tourists.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, 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 October 13, 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 October 13, 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 October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since December 2020.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 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 21, 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.