Association of Public and Land-grant Universities
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 530183246
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Washington, DC, USA
- Phone
- 2024786040
- Rating
- 73
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Higher Education Institutions
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $20,100,004
- Expenses
- $18,465,010
- Assets
- $45,431,252
- Liabilities
- $17,596,816
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
38 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MARK BECKER (PRESIDENT)
- WILLIAM HOFFMAN (VP, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COOPERATIVE EXTENSION)
Highest reported compensation
- MARK BECKER (PRESIDENT): $875,884 total reported compensation
- DOUGLAS STEELE (VP, FOOD AG NATURAL RESOURCES): $424,538 total reported compensation
- JEFFREY LIEBERSON (EVP & SVP, PUBLIC AFFAIRS): $292,422 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Aplu is a membership organization that fosters a community of university leaders collectively working to advance the mission of public research universities. The association's membership consists of more than 250 public research universities, land-grant institutions, state university systems, and affiliated organizations spanning across all 50 states, the district of columbia, six u.s. Territories, canada, and mexico.the association and its members collectively focus on increasing student success and workforce readiness; promoting pathbreaking scientific research; and bolstering economic and community engagement. Drawing on the powerful collective action of its members, aplu's advocacy arm helps shape federal policy that maximizes the positive impact of public and land-grant universities.
What it reported doing in 2024
Academic affairs conducts studies with member institutions, and issues reports intended to improve the academic undertakings of our members. Recently, it has devoted special attention to undergraduate education, including cost, financial aid, quality, time to degree, and accountability. The data policy and analysis group has carried out a number of projects and activities related to improving institutional data on student success, and better describing aplu institutions. Other projects in academic affairs have worked to improve and expand the use of digital learning technologies, improve mentoring for students, helping students improve success in introductory mathematics and further integrating career readiness into undergraduate education.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 76% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 91% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 60
- Transparency & Controls: 75
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 55
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 63.7%; rating input score 64
- Program expense ratio: 72.8%; rating input score 73
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 90.3%; rating input score 90; 20th 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 8.1%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.46; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.39; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 20.4%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 0% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 10.2% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 63.7% of revenue deployed · 72.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 26 of 26 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $13.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $876K · 38 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $964K reported
- Consistency: 36 of 37 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 35 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 23 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 38/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.