The President and Trustees of Colby College

Overview

Mission

See schedule o.

What it reported doing in 2024

Post secondary education: Instruction of 2,407 undergraduate students in 2024/25. In the 2024/25 year, 619 students graduated, and an estimated 364 students studied away. 88% completed the degree within five years; the student/faculty ratio is 10:1.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 72% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 72% for direct work, and 28% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
010211497
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Headquarters
Waterville, ME, USA
Phone
2078594774
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)

Official website

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 71
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.6%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 80.3%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.19 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 71.8%; rating input score 72; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 97.2%; rating input score 97; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 8.2%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.82; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.9%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.6% of revenue deployed · 80.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 35 of 36 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $261.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $3.2M · 56 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $34.2M reported
  • Consistency: 49 of 51 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 13 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 16 annual filings from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 32 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 16 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Leadership & pay

56 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • David A Greene (President): $3,203,132 total reported compensation
  • Deborah Shufrin (Associate VP and Chief Investment Officer): $921,135 total reported compensation
  • Matthew Proto (Senior VP and Chief Institutional Advancement Officer): $534,034 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.