2023-07-17T17:05:33-05:00 2022-12-31 450250958 Eide Bailly LLP 1730 Burnt Boat Loop Ste 100 Bismarck ND 585030886 990 2022-01-01 450231058 North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives NORT 7016636501 PO Box 727 Mandan ND 585540727 Josh Kramer Executive VP & Gen Mgr 7016636501 2023-07-17 1 Josh Kramer 999009999 0 Lisa Chaffee CPA P00193453 7012551091 2023-07-17 2 AAL1 IAL1 2022 2023-04-26 12:10:37Z Josh Kramer PO Box 727 Mandan ND 585540727 8855188 0 X www.ndarec.com X 1958 ND NDAREC's vision is helping member cooperatives enrich the lives of their members and communities. 21 17 23 21 -163749 0 3331553 6934714 1337755 1831704 -307351 19028 33050 1780 4395007 8787226 0 0 0 0 2724167 2793043 0 0 0 1071954 1760867 3796121 4553910 598886 4233316 8007431 14788040 4923123 7472357 3084308 7315683 X Our mission is to provide member cooperatives a complete package of quality services in communications, government relations, education, safety training, professional and economic development. 0 0 Publications - Produced 12 monthly issues of North Dakota Living magazine, including 1,440 unique local pages for 17 electric cooperatives to communicate with their members. - Produced income-generating publications, including the NDAREC/BAND Member Directory, N.D. Travel Guide, Big Iron Guide and the Bismarck-Mandan Convention and Visitors Bureau Guide. - Disseminated monthly digital magazines to member-cooperatives and digitized content for use online at ndliving.com. - Generated $600,000 in advertising revenue to reduce the cost of delivering North Dakota Living to co-op members. - Provided education and information through print and online pieces, covering a variety of state and local issues and electric industry, safety and cooperative topics important to membership. Graphic Arts - Created 1,840 total pages for North Dakota Living. - Produced 24 network pages for member use, which featured electric safety, energy efficiency and usage topics. - Completed multiple design projects for member-cooperatives and statewide service areas including annual reports, newsletters, social media graphics, signs and banners, photography and more. - Assisted with the design and branding elements of the new headquarters facility, Cooperative Center corridor and Lineworker Training Center. Media + Public Relations - Engaged with media for both earned and paid opportunities, including coverage of the grand reopening event in October; reprint requests for stories in North Dakota Living; monthly radio ad production; and two live broadcasts on statewide radio for the grand reopening event and annual meeting. - Represented electric cooperatives through participation in multiple trade shows across the state, providing valuable contact with members, businesses, partners and advertisers. - Provided education and information through print and online pieces, covering a variety of state and local issues, electric industry, safety and cooperative topics important to membership. Training & Safety- Delivered services to 24 members in three core areas: apprenticeship, training, safety and loss control services. Members include cooperatives, municipals, select contractors and the Minot Air Force Base. - Provided nine safety meetings for participating members in North Dakota and Montana at 287 locations reaching 2,833 cooperative employees. - Delivered hands-on and practical experience through special schools, including hotline, chainsaw safety and tree trimming schools. - Aided cooperatives in measuring safety performance and managing loss control. - Implemented a regional mutual-aid plan which provides access to additional cooperative resources to shorten recovery efforts for large disasters. - Aided in coordination of mutual aid for the restoration of power following two significant storms that occurred in the western part of the state in April and the eastern part of the state in November. - Implemented a statewide outage mapping system across all cooperatives and counties. This promotes positive state, local and public relations by focusing on safety and communication using live outage maps. Outage maps are maintained by integrating with each cooperative's automated outage management system. - Conducted dielectric truck testing for participating members in North Dakota and Montana in 33 locations for a total of 115 trucks tested. - Drove leadership commitment and continuous improvement towards safety through the Rural Electric Safety Achievement Program (RESAP). Conducted on-site observations for seven cooperatives. - Monitored and communicated updates to regulatory and compliance standards relevant to the industry. - Participated in the development and assessment of the second phase of the Commit to Zero program. The program will be delivered by NDAREC in 2023. - Fostered strong safety culture through NDAREC's "I Will" P.A.C.E. program.Apprenticeship Program- Submitted a proposal to the U.S. Department of Labor to grow the apprenticeship program by adding a substation technician apprenticeship program. - Administered the apprenticeship and skills improvement programs for 63 enrollees studying lineworker, meter technician and substation curriculum. As a result, 13 lineworkers became journeymen in 2022. - Supported veterans in achieving their GI benefits while enrolled in an apprenticeship program. Government Relations- Developed an Infrastructure Task Force to raise awareness of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act. - Lobbied in Washington D.C., for enactment of Rural Utilities Service repricing, direct pay for energy tax credits for cooperatives to promote affordable and reliable electricity including carbon capture facilities, renewables, storage, transmission and electric vehicle infrastructure. - Reported on potential initiated measures and their implications for NDAREC and its membership. Voiced NDAREC opposition to term-limits measure. - Coordinated REPAC meetings and made contributions totaling $94,000.- Communicated with elected officials and the public and developed talking points regarding the April weather event. - Monitored Public Service Commission hearings regarding a Territorial Integrity Act dispute between Nodak Electric Cooperative and Otter Tail Power Corporation. - Communicated consistently with the North Dakota Department of Commerce regarding federal funds coming to the state and concerns around recruitment of cryptocurrency loads and the messaging around price and ability to choose electric generation. - Met with 82 House Republicans including 25 newly elected members following the November election.- Hosted North Dakota's NRECA Legislative Conference.Communications- Provided communications assistance to all NDAREC service areas.- Developed murals for the Lineworker Training Center and a historical timeline, energy evolution wall, and cooperative values and principles displays for the Cooperative Center Corridor.- Consistently reached goals of the 2022 NDAREC Strategic Communications Plan and assisted each service area in implementation while monitoring progress. - Sponsored a Communications Workshop with 24 co-op communicators attending. The workshop featured crisis communications and photography training.- Communicated co-op messaging through social media pages, including the NDAREC and North Dakota Living Facebook pages, Twitter pages, websites and YouTube.- Monitored and communicated information for co-op communicators concerning Touchstone Energy Cooperatives and NRECA's Straight Talk.- Produced 25 videos in 2022 with cooperative messaging. Rural Development - Hosted the annual Rural Developers Assembly, which featured John Kane, co-founder of Warehouses4Good. From this meeting, a group emerged with interest in studying the feasibility of developing a nonprofit warehousing system to supply rural North Dakota. - Led the North Dakota Rural Electric Cooperative Association through a strategic planning session to identify priorities and began the early stages of developing a scholarship program designed to repopulate rural North Dakota towns with skilled trades workers. - Provided administrative services to the Rural Development Finance Corporation (RDFC). The total assets of RDFC's revolving loan fund have grown to more than $8.2 million. RDFC has provided 127 loans since its inception. - Received a grant award through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Cooperative Development Grant program. - Prepared USDA Rural Economic Development Loan applications for AgriCover, Leading Edge, Langdon Locker, MainSaver and Jamestown Rural Fire District. - Provided an educational series for home care workers on the home care cooperative model. - Worked with the BisMan Community Food Cooperative to secure a $200,000 grant through USDA Healthy Food Financing Initiative to bolster the cooperative's sustainability. - Worked with the University of Minnesota to complete a case study to demonstrate the benefits of a school district purchasing their school lunch items locally. - Compiled a feasibility study for South 40 Beef to include in their successful grant application to USDA's Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program. - Bolstered our webpage, providing links to information on cooperative models and projects. - Designed display materials and participated with a booth at the Main Street Initiative and the North Dakota Independent Bankers Association conferences. - Designed a new brochure highlighting North Dakota's electric cooperatives' rural development efforts. - Secured grant funding through an anonymous donor for the expansion of Bowdon Meat Processing Cooperative and for upgrades to the Kulm grocery store. - The Rural Access Distribution Cooperative (RAD) installed climate-controlled grocery lockers and are set to launch its online shopping and distribution program. RAD members have been purchasing cooperatively for one year. Training & Professional Development - Developed and directed an education plan with coursework for board members, employees and employee associations. This included all aspects of planning, marketing and communications; contract and fee negotiations with hotels and trainers; registrations and on-site management. - Planned, coordinated and delivered five board-governance programs, 17 employee webinars, and four Supervisor and Manager Development Program courses. Written evaluations and anecdotal feedback were positive including expressed appreciation for NDAREC providing the venue for members to come together. - Directed planning and participation in the national Electric Cooperative Youth Tour program. Due to the pandemic, this program was halted for two years. Bringing back the program in 2022 involved significant changes. NDAREC also took on more planning and coordination responsibilities for the joint delegation of Montana and North Dakota students. After the Youth Tour experience, students and parents alike raved about the program. The cost per student came in well under budget. - Planned and delivered the Cooperative Connection orientation program for new employees and directors. Thirteen NDAREC distribution members participated in the three-day program. Feedback from participants was positive on the value of this program. Meeting & Conference Planning - Facilitated the organization of the REC Information Technology and Cybersecurity employee user group and virtual monthly meetings for the group to exchange information and learn from each other. Topics included critical security controls and back-up infrastructure; cybersecurity response plans and templates; setting up computers and mobile devices for users; phishing threats and simulations; security trends; servers and storage; software products and vendors; policies; procedures and budgets. - Facilitated and planned two employee association meetings (member services and communications) and two employee association conferences (office managers and accountants, and engineering and operations). - Recruited sponsorships from NDAREC associate members, industry partners and vendors for employee association meetings, conferences and the annual meeting. This resulted in reduced bill-backs or no bill-backs to member-cooperatives. 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 31 0 1 23 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 X 21 17 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 X Brenna Ohman 7016676419 PO Box 727 Mandan ND 58554 X Robert Grant President 6.00 X X 12425 0 0 Randy Simon Vice President 3.00 X X 1050 0 0 Connie Bitz Secretary 5.00 X X 1925 0 0 Maxine Rognlien Treasurer 2.50 X X 1225 0 0 Lynn Jacobson Director 4.00 X 0 0 0 Deon Vilhauer Director 2.20 X 1225 0 0 Jeff Triebold Director 1.50 X 0 0 0 Tim Devine Director 4.00 X 0 0 0 Carmen Essig Director 3.00 X 0 0 0 Tim Wasem Director 2.00 X 875 0 0 Rod Stockdill Director 3.70 X 0 0 0 Chad Harrison Director 1.50 X 0 0 0 David Brag Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Lori Kittleson Director 3.00 X 0 0 0 Arnold Kainz Director 4.00 X 0 0 0 Angela Carlson Director 5.25 X 0 0 0 Troy Presser Director 1.00 X 0 0 0 Jean Brandt Director 5.00 X 700 0 0 Robert Bruckbauer Director 0.50 X 0 0 0 Les Windjue Director 4.00 X 0 0 0 David Sigloh Director 5.00 X 0 0 0 Tom Seymour Director - Alternate (Jan/Nov) 2.50 X 0 0 0 Ken Sanford Director - Alternate (Mar/Jul) 0.50 X 0 0 0 Allen Thiessen Director - Alternate (Jul/Oct) 3.00 X 0 0 0 Dean Hummel Director - Alternate (Oct) 0.50 X 0 0 0 Josh Kramer Executive VP & General Mgr 42.00 X 243204 0 81303 Brenna Ohman Finance Director 41.00 X 121403 0 12112 Zac Smith Communic & Gov Rel/General Counsel 41.00 X 157987 0 32280 Loretha Capouch Rural Development Services Dir 41.00 X 114440 0 87439 Christina Roemmich Safety Services Director 43.00 X 122611 0 42477 Brian Lakoduk Safety Instructor 42.00 X 106766 0 29932 Jeff Tweten Safety Instructor 42.00 X 102351 0 43944 988187 0 329487 8 0 1 0 Northwest Contracting Inc 2840 Valley Forge St Bismarck ND 58503 General Contractor 6963814 Advanced Mechanical Inc 1415 Airport Rd Bismarck ND 58504 Mechanical Contractor 753095 Electric Systems Inc 1819 Michigan Ave Bismarck ND 58504 Electrical Contractor 585744 Forum Communications 4601 16th Ave N Fargo ND 58107 Magazine printing services 426628 JLG Architects 124 North 3rd St Grand Forks ND 58203 Architectual design services 117673 5 2381171 3774971 778572 6934714 Magazine Revenue 541800 775888 939637 -163749 Supporting Revenue 561499 351974 351974 Educational & Member Services 611600 301262 301262 Safety Services 541900 217125 217125 Rural Development 611600 185455 185455 1831704 17451 17451 69742 67962 1780 1780 1780 1577 0 1577 1577 1577 8787226 1995453 -163749 20808 501858 1489161 393259 254539 154226 306 26227 128567 63328 86905 111163 117891 140130 181021 225988 17077 Magazine Postage & Prin 410529 Workshops & Related Exp 193543 Dues & Subscriptions 24984 Vehicle Expenses 12307 20901 4553910 2314013 1030337 377437 307798 106657 209066 41100 37445 14336031 1352087 4950933 12983944 3745 3509 213546 215941 8007431 14788040 1074453 479852 788256 625362 198763 73724 2795000 5951517 66651 341902 4923123 7472357 X 0 0 0 0 3084308 7315683 3084308 7315683 8007431 14788040 X 4233316 -236 -1705 X 0 1 X 1 1 1 RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED North Dakota Rural Electric Political Action Committee PO Box 727 Mandan ND 58554 450457989 0 1350 Action Committee for Rural Electrification PO Box 718778 Philadelphia PA 19171 526147497 0 2279 1 0 0 Part I-A, Line 1: NDAREC operates a state political action committee (REPAC) in compliance with laws of the State of North Dakota, including section 16.1-08.1-03.3 of the North Dakota Century Code. NDAREC provides administrative support for REPAC by soliciting contributions to REPAC, depositing the funds in a separate and segregated account, and appointing a board to allocate the funds to candidates for state and legislative offices, NDAREC also offers its employees the opportunity to use payroll deduction for REPAC contributions. NDAREC employees also have the opportunity to contribute to a federal political action committee, the Action Committee for Rural Electrification (ACRE), organized by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), under federal law. NDAREC also offers its employees the opportunity to use payroll deduction for ACRE contributions. 0 1 X 188509 188509 12806677 710926 12095751 896730 385846 510884 444115 255315 188800 12983944 X 9557473 0 9557473 -770247 -770247 8787226 5326098 853580 853580 4472518 81392 81392 4553910 Part IV, Line 2b: NDAREC holds funds for several organizations. NDAREC receives revenues for the organizations and writes checks when appropriately directed by the organization. A statement of activities and the cash balance is reported to the organizations on a regular basis. Part X, Line 2: The Association has appropriate support for any tax positions taken affecting its annual filing requirements, and as such, does not have any uncertain tax positions that are material to the financial statements. The Association would recognize future accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits and liabilities in income tax expense if such interest and penalties are incurred. Part XI, Line 4b - Other Adjustments: Magazine UBI Costs Included in Expenses for F/S -785,382. Rental Expeness Included in Expenses for F/S -67,962. Receipts from Funds Held For Others 83,097. Part XII, Line 2d - Other Adjustments: Rental Expenses Included in Revenue on 990 67,962. Magazine UBI Costs Included in Revenue on 990 785,382. Unrealized Gain/Loss on Investment in Expenses for F/S 236. Part XII, Line 4b - Other Adjustments: Disbursements from Funds Held for Others 81,392. X X X 0 0 0 Josh Kramer Executive VP & General Mgr 210321 0 25000 0 7883 0 49812 0 34382 0 327398 0 0 0 Loretha Capouch Rural Development Services Dir 107659 0 4453 0 2328 0 61448 0 27663 0 203551 0 0 0 Zac Smith Communic & Gov Rel/General Counsel 151767 0 5435 0 785 0 32280 0 2043 0 192310 0 0 0 Christina Roemmich Safety Services Director 112739 0 9355 0 517 0 33029 0 11084 0 166724 0 0 0 Form 990, Schedule J: Compensation of officers, directors, key employees, highest compensated employees and independent contractors: included in column "c", deferred compensation is the estimated annual increase in the actuarial value of the defined benefit plan. These amounts are estimates in the increase of the value of the plan and are not current year expenses of the association. The current year expense for this defined benefit plan and the increase in actuarial value for each employee are reported in the Schedule O statement for Form 990, Part VII, Column f. Form 990, Part VI, Section A, line 1a An Executive Committee comprised of the officers of the Association shall have all of the powers of the Board of Directors when the Board of Directors is not in session, except in respect to powers reserved by the Board of Directors itself or which may not be delegated by law to an Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall be charged with the duty of conducting the business and operations of the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives, subject to the review and control of the Board of Directors. Form 990, Part VI, Section A, line 6 Voting members are member-owned, non-profit cooperatives which are operating in the state of North Dakota whose operations are consistent with the objectives of NDAREC and its voting members. Non-voting members consist of Commercial Affiliate Members and Associate Members. Form 990, Part VI, Section A, line 7a Each voting member of NDAREC elects a director and an alternate director from its board of directors, who then serves on the board of directors of NDAREC for a term of one year. The alternate director serves in the absence of the director with full power of representation. All directors, as a condition of holding office and serving in that capacity, must remain a director of that member cooperative. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, line 11b No formal process has been adopted. The Form 990 will be provided to the board of directors prior to filing with explanation of specific parts of the Form. An adequate time period will be allowed for review and questions prior to the Form 990 being filed. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, line 12c Persons covered by this policy will annually disclose or update to the President of the Board of Directors on a form provided by NDAREC their interests that could reasonably give rise to a conflict of interest, such as a list of family members, substantial business or investment holdings, and other transactions or affiliations with businesses and other organizations or those of family members. 1. Duty to Disclose In connection with any actual or possible conflict of interest, an interested person must disclose the existence of the financial interest and be given the opportunity to disclose all material facts to the directors and members of committees with governing board delegated powers considering the proposed transaction or arrangement. 2. Determining Whether a Conflict of Interest Exists After disclosure of the financial interest and all material facts, and after any discussion with the interested person, he/she shall leave the governing board or committee meeting while the determination of a conflict of interest is discussed and voted upon. The remaining board or committee members shall decide if a conflict of interest exists. 3. Procedures for Addressing the Conflict of Interest a. An interested person may make a presentation at the governing board or committee meeting, but after the presentation, he/she shall leave the meeting during the discussion of, and the vote on, the transaction or arrangement involving the possible conflict of interest. b. The chairperson of the governing board or committee shall, if appropriate, appoint a disinterested person or committee to investigate alternatives to the proposed transaction or arrangement. c. After exercising due diligence, the governing board or committee shall determine whether the Organization can obtain with reasonable efforts a more advantageous transaction or arrangement from a person or entity that would not give rise to a conflict of interest. d. If a more advantageous transaction or arrangement is not reasonably possible under circumstances not producing a conflict of interest, the governing board or committee shall determine by a majority vote of the disinterested directors whether the transaction or arrangement is in the Organization's best interest, for its own benefit, and whether it is fair and reasonable. In conformity with the above determination it shall make its decision as to whether to enter into the transaction or arrangement. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, line 15 The Executive Committee of the NDAREC Board of Directors meets annually to review the compensation of the Executive Vice President and General Manager. They use historical information provided to them by the Finance Director, as well as information on the current salary increases for NDAREC staff and the current cost of living adjustment. The board uses survey data from the Rural Electric Statewide Managers Association to determine comparability of salary information. The board also has access to salary survey information collected by NDAREC for all the ND electric cooperatives, which includes the salaries for the coops general managers. The Executive Committee recommends the salary to the Board of Directors for their approval. The board action is documented with a "Salary Certificate and is signed by the President and Secretary of the Board of Directors, communicated to the Finance Director for payroll purposes, and filed in the personnel file. NDAREC has a wage and salary plan policy adopted by the Board of Directors. This wage and salary plan ranks (using several criteria) each job position by pay grade and pay range. The pay range consists of an entry level, a market band, and a maximum. Each year the board approves an annual adjustment to the pay ranges based on certain economic factors. The General Manager approves the annual salary for the Finance Director and all other NDAREC employees. Form 990, Part VI, Section C, line 19 These documents are not made available to the public. Form 990, Part VII, Column F Included in column "F", estimated amount of other compensation, is the estimated annual increase in the actuarial value of the defined benefit plan. The estimated increase for Josh Kramer is $39,926, for Loretha Capouch is $56,710, for Zachary Smith is $25,992, for Christina Roemmich is $28,098, for Jeffrey Tweten is $26,489, and for Brian Lakoduk is $20,956. These amounts are estimates in the increase of the value of the plan and are not current year expenses of the Association. The current year expense for this defined benefit plan was $59,878, $30,902, $39,685, $30,023, $26,672 and $27,198, respectively. Form 990, Part XI, line 9: Net Change in Funds Held for Others -1,705. ND Rural Electric Political Action Committee PO Box 727 Mandan ND 585540727 450457989 Political Action Committee ND 527 N/A N/A 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0