2026-09-11T16:37:29-04:00 2024-12-31 472317967 The Bottom Line LLC 5225 Secor Rd Unit 1 Toledo OH 43623 990 2024-01-01 346601269 GAF Society % Ben Krieger GAFS 4196914116 3624 Seaman Rd Oregon OH 43616 BEN KRIEGER President 4196914116 2026-09-02 false true LES MARSH CPA P01373443 4194722841 2026-09-11 2024 Ben Krieger 3624 Seaman Rd Oregon OH 43616 1846434 false X www.gafsociety.org X 1971 OH To create and promote a better understanding of German and Swiss cultural activities and to establish a German-Swiss-American Cultural Center 44 44 33 40 97750 0 0 1884255 1903845 11564 10000 -77102 -67411 1818717 1846434 0 0 190618 191099 0 0 1742189 1620364 1932807 1811463 -114090 34971 1659949 1647696 50225 3001 1609724 1644695 To create and promote a better understanding of German and Swiss cultural activities and to establish a German-Swiss-American Cultural Center false false 991200 1330637 The German American Festival Promotes and Enhances the German and Swiss cultures as well as generates revenue to support the German and Swiss cultural center in Oregon and a wide variety of scholoarships, athletics, and other philanthropic programs in the Toledo area. 703089 573208 A culturual gathering place for members. We have professional music programs from europe for all ages and members and authentic food and drink 1694289 true false false false false false false false false false true false false false true false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false true 0 0 true 33 true true true false false false false false false false false false false X 44 44 false false false false false false false true true false false true true true false false false false false false OH X X Ben Krieger 4196914116 3624 Seaman Rd Oregon OH 43616 X Kevin Ruedy Executive Board Chair 2.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 Ben Krieger President 2.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 Cindy Krieger Financial Secretary 2.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 Jamie Niederkohr Recording Secretary 2.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 Christa Luttman Assistant Recording Secretary 2.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 Mike Willinger President Pro Tempore 2.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 Al Weis Vice President 2.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 Ed McGee Trustee 2.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Deb McGee Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Guy Schultz Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Joe Conway Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Harry Schmitz Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Brian Niederkohr Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Kris Ruedy Treasurer 1.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 Lucielle Brown Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Tom Zunk Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Andrew Beevis Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Hans Henoch Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Jackie Martin Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Sharon Buehler Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Tony Aringer Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Ralph Trease Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Jeff Viertlbeck Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Mike Scott Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Axel Mueller Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Jane Shelly Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Barb Carr Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Jim Tschrene Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Ron Gerkensmyer Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Lucille DeGraba-Brown Marshal 1.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 Hanna Schultz Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Doug Homer Assistant Treasurer 1.00 0.00 X X 0 0 0 Caleb Weber Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Tom Riedman Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Richard Taylor Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Ron Lang Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Nancy Waters Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Chris Basilius Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Tom Hodges Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Jane Shelly Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Barb Carr Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Jim Tschrene Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Elaine Schwind Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 Ron Gerkensmyer Trustee 1.00 0.00 X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 false false false Festival 713990 1330637 1330637 Black Forest Cafe 722511 100924 100924 Other Program Revenues 713990 472284 472284 1903845 10000 10000 0 Sales Taxes 713990 -67411 -64237 -3174 -67411 1846434 1748684 97750 0 174203 174203 16896 16896 5471 5471 250 250 14550 14550 8746 8746 20665 20665 2745 2745 71 71 49174 49174 23540 23540 Festival Expenses 991200 991200 Cost of Goods Sold 229156 187908 41248 Utilities 52336 52336 Facilities & Equipment 48361 39656 8705 174099 174099 1811463 1694289 117174 0 298475 578791 492662 200508 2475870 1649681 826604 826189 42208 42208 1659949 1647696 2265 475 47960 2526 50225 3001 X 1609724 1644695 1609724 1644695 1659949 1647696 X 34971 0 X false false false X 1484 1484 253873 1530266 2118449 1818717 1846434 7567739 255357 1530266 2118449 1818717 1846434 7569223 0 0 0 0 0 0 7569223 23217 7884 10051 11564 10000 62716 23217 7884 10051 11564 10000 62716 278574 1538150 2128500 1830281 1856434 7631939 0.99180 0.98710 0.01000 0.01000 X 528177 528177 1409313 1145047 264266 519013 495501 23512 19367 9133 10234 826189 Sales Tax Payable 2526 2526 Form 990 governing body review Part VI line 11 The governing body of Trustees and Officers have ability to review the 990 prior to filing. Governing documents etc available to public Part VI line 19 The documents of the organization and financial filings are found on various public charity publishing websites and upon proper request Explanation of other changes in net assets or fund balances Part XI line 9 Reconciliation of prior period tax versus book depreciation. General explanation attachment The GAF Society (GAFS) respectfully submits this statement to explain the circumstances resulting in the late filing of its 2024 Form 990. The delay in filing the 2024 return represents the final consequence of a multi-year disruption in GAFSs financial recordkeeping and reporting processes that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those circumstances resulted in incomplete and inaccurate financial records for several years and required substantial reconstruction and reconciliation before complete and accurate Forms 990 could be prepared. Beginning in 2020, illnesses, quarantine requirements, limited in-person operations, and related disruptions materially affected GAFSs volunteer-based financial administration. Financial documents were not consistently collected and organized, and the volunteer Treasurer responsible for overseeing the organizations financial reporting became unable to keep pace with the resulting administrative demands. The Treasurer fell substantially behind in maintaining the organizations financial records and did not provide necessary information to the GAFSs outside accounting and bookkeeping professionals. The GAFS ultimately lost both its CPA firm and bookkeeping firm following extended difficulties in obtaining the information necessary to perform their The full extent of these problems was not timely disclosed to the GAFSs other officers and trustees. After discovering the situation, the GAFS removed and replaced the Treasurer and Financial Secretary in October 2023 and began reconstructing its financial records. That process revealed inaccurate QuickBooks entries, unreconciled accounts, missing financial statements and check images, and other deficiencies. The GAFS was required to retrieve records from former service providers and, in some instances, obtain replacement documents directly from financial institutions. Correcting these deficiencies necessarily involved more than preparing individual delinquent returns. Accurate financial information for each subsequent year depended upon establishing accurate balances and financial information for the preceding year. GAFS and its professional advisors therefore worked through the affected years sequentially, reconstructing and reconciling the records before preparing each Form 990. That process took longer than originally anticipated. Although the GAFS made substantial progress in completing its delinquent filings, the historical reconstruction continued to affect preparation of the 2024 Form 990 and prevented its completion by the extended filing deadline. Throughout this process, GAFS has taken substantial measures to correct the underlying problems and prevent their recurrence. Those measures include: 1. Replacing the Treasurer and Financial Secretary responsible for the deficient financial administration; 2. Retaining professional accounting assistance for preparation of the organizations Forms 990 and ongoing tax compliance; 3. Retaining professional bookkeeping assistance to maintain and regularly reconcile the organizations financial records; 4. Migrating the organizations QuickBooks records to a cloud-based system accessible to authorized personnel and outside professionals; 5. Reestablishing an audit committee to provide regular oversight of financial activity and compliance obligations; 6. Making the status of required tax and information returns a regular matter of Board oversight; and 7. Shifting substantial financial recordkeeping and reporting responsibilities from volunteer officers to outside professionals after determining that the scope and complexity of the organizations financial operations required greater professional involvement. The filing of this 2024 Form 990 represents an important milestone in that corrective process. With this filing, the GAFS has filed all outstanding Forms 990 and is current with its annual filing obligations. The reconstruction of the historical financial records that delayed the affected returns has been completed. The circumstances surrounding the 2025 Form 990 are materially different. The GAFs financial records are now being maintained on a current basis with professional bookkeeping and accounting assistance. The historical reconstruction that delayed the prior returns is no longer necessary, and the additional internal and professional oversight described above is in place. The GAFS has obtained an extension for its 2025 Form 990 and fully expects to file that return by the applicable extended due date. Prior to the extraordinary circumstances beginning in 2020, the GAFS maintained a history of timely Form 990 filings. Once the extent of the financial recordkeeping problems became known, the organization took concrete corrective action, devoted substantial financial and administrative resources to reconstructing its records, replaced the individuals responsible for the deficient financial administration, retained professional assistance, and strengthened its internal oversight. The late filing of the 2024 Form 990 was not the result of willful neglect or disregard of the GAFs filing obligations. Rather, it resulted from the final stages of correcting the multi-year financial recordkeeping deficiencies described above and the time required to establish sufficiently accurate financial information to prepare complete and accurate returns. The GAFS respectfully submits that these circumstances constitute reasonable cause for the late filing of its 2024 Form 990 and requests relief from any late-filing penalty. With the filing of this return, the GAFS has completed the process of bringing its Forms 990 current and has implemented the professional assistance, financial controls, and oversight