Burlington College

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
030229504
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2013
Forms available
Form 990 2013
Location
Burlington, VT, USA
Phone
8028629616
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,839,255
Expenses
$6,314,335
Assets
$14,149,100
Liabilities
$12,966,769

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2013. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CHRISTINE PLUNKETT (PRESIDENT)
  • STEPHEN ST ONGE (VICE PRESIDENT AND DEAN)

Highest reported compensation

  • CHRISTINE PLUNKETT (PRESIDENT): $145,445 total reported compensation
  • STEPHEN ST ONGE (VICE PRESIDENT AND DEAN): $115,820 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2013. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of burlington college is to guide students to become skillful and reflective practitioners, lifelong learners, and active citizens engaged in fostering a just, humane society and sustainable, beautiful communities.

What it reported doing in 2013

Expenses associated with the instruction and administration of programs to provide education to individuals pursuing a bachelor or masters of arts degree

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 96% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 86% 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73.1%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 66.2%; rating input score 66
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.49 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 70th 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; 65th 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: -8.1%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.24; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.92; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.1%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.9% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 73.1% of revenue deployed · 66.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $145K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and grants
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2009 to 2013
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 9/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 53/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.