Associated Colleges of Illinois Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
362252360
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
3122632391
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Nonmonetary Support N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,403,356
Expenses
$1,209,707
Assets
$1,617,684
Liabilities
$344,672

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

51 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Gene C Crume (President)
  • April Arnold (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • April Arnold (Executive Director): $132,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Associated Colleges of Illinois has supported numerous independent colleges and universities with a liberal arts tradition in Illinois for more than 70 years benefitting thousands of underrepresented students through scholarships, emergency financial aid, mentoring, and other forms of college to career support.

What it reported doing in 2024

Grants and services to member colleges and universities

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 62% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 65% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 56
  • Transparency & Controls: 91
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 55
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 58%; rating input score 58
  • Program expense ratio: 64.8%; rating input score 65
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.57 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 13.8%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.34; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.21; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.9%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.5% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.3% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -4.2% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 58% of revenue deployed · 64.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 46 of 46 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $784K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $132K · 51 people listed
  • Consistency: 34 of 35 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 22 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 21 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 58/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 34/100.