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Granite Falls Historical Society

EIN 91-1500032 · Granite Falls, WA

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthNot ratedToo small or too little detailGovernanceGood81 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

The Society's mission is to collect, preserve and share the history of the Granite Falls region. We locate, identify, and collect appropriate material, protect and interpret that material, and finally make it available to the greatest possible extent. That includes museum operation, County-wide heritage community involvement, and live and online educational access to our collections.

Income
$27,681
Spending
$28,822
Spent on programs
92%
Reserves
Over 10 years of spending
Largest source of income
investment income, 65%
Employees
0
Volunteers
30

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

We do not score finances when yearly spending is very small or the return has too little detail. The ratios stop meaning much at that size.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Good: 81 out of 100. Higher than 73% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, under $250k).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    9 of 9 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    0 of 8

    Reports no written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    0 of 7

    Reports no written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports 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 (4)
  1. $11,074 spent. MUSEUM OPERATION - Our major expense is the operation of the physical museum. Occupancy, insurance, depreciation, and construction/equipment top the list. Revenue is the admission/donation box. While admission to the museum is free, we received $110,395.41 in donations and grants specifically for museum expansion and equipment, and those are considered revenue here because their use was restricted solely to physical museum improvement. We were open every Sunday in 2025, and opened over 40 times for out-of-town visitors or organizations requesting a tour who phoned in to arrange weekday visits. We received at the end of 2025 a $100,000 bequest to add to our Endowment fund.
  2. $13,537 spent. HERITAGE COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT - Our second largest expense is typically our involvement in the county's heritage community, particularly in providing online resources useful for research and/or historic tourism. Online hosting expenses continued throughout 2023, including those for online maps, rural historic cyber-tours, and countywide online museum tours. Some of these expenses are reimbursable by a historic fund and are shown as grants. Timing of reimbursements cause yearly variations. In 2023, we updated and expanded the county-wide online museums tour (and were reimbursed $1,404) We digitized historic County newspapers (and were reimbursed $19,500). We provided historical orientation presentations for several antique automobile touring clubs. We also provided technical instruction to several county genealogical societies who were struggling to improve their organizational technology skills, specifically aimed at helping them in the use of new digital scanning equipment.
  3. $1,600 spent. EDUCATION: We maintain a strong online presence, coupled with a broadly-distributed newsletter. Since we are an all-volunteer organization, our office and IT expenses are focused on continual educational awareness of, and access to, our collection. School class visits for 2025 were done. Hosting a total of 30 class presentation were provided to 3rd grade students. A number of printed pictures and documents were provided to local and online researchers, printing fees shown as revenue. We received a bequest at the end of the year that was directed to our Scholarship program. The donor requested that we specify the funds to go to 2 scholarships every year for a student seeking a STEM related education.
  4. $200 spent. Safety Deposit Box, AASLH Membership, Fire Inspection, Chamber membership

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

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since June 2004.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. 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.