Cantigny Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
363689172
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Wheaton, IL, USA
Phone
6302608151
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$100,238,437
Expenses
$39,107,282
Assets
$547,019,809
Liabilities
$69,255,647

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • TIMOTHY KNIGHT (PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
  • MATTHEW LAFOND (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CANTIGNY PARK)

Highest reported compensation

  • TIMOTHY KNIGHT (PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $868,623 total reported compensation
  • CARLA BEAL (CIO & TREASURER): $633,360 total reported compensation
  • ANDRES TORRES - VP-STRATEGY (PLANNING & OPS./SEC.): $359,530 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Operates cantigny park, golf, mccormick house and first division museum in wheaton, Illinois.

What it reported doing in 2024

The 500-acre cantigny estate includes mccormick's home and gardens, which host dozens of programs and events annually for more than 319,000 visitors; the first division museum, a military history museum that educates over 126,000 students and families on the u.s. Army's 1st infantry division, from world war i to present; and cantigny golf, a 27-hole public golf course, a 9-hole short course designed to train junior golfers, and a golf academy and learning center that thousands of children and adults enjoy annually.

Operating model

Revenue model
Affiliate-supported. 62% of the money available for current operations came from contributions from related organizations.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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 most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 62
  • Transparency & Controls: 54
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 84
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 66.3%; rating input score 66
  • Program expense ratio: 76.5%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 0%; rating input score 0; 3rd 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; 77th 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: 61%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 13.99; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.4%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 66.3% of revenue deployed · 76.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $29.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $869K · 16 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $7.5M reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 16 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.