Cedar Crest College
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 231365953
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Allentown, PA, USA
- Phone
- 6106064666
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Undergraduate College (4-year)
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $57,462,091
- Expenses
- $59,318,032
- Assets
- $109,276,205
- Liabilities
- $25,301,194
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
35 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DR ELIZABETH MEADE (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- DR ELIZABETH MEADE (PRESIDENT): $448,282 total reported compensation
- ELIZABETH WILSON (CFO/TREASURER): $225,004 total reported compensation
- DEBORAH BURNETT-OLSEN DIRECTOR NURS (ANESTHESIA PROG/ASST PROFESSOR): $207,663 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The Joni Berner, Esq. ’75 Expert Witness Training Center and Crime Scene Laboratory provides an interdisciplinary, real-world training environment that brings together law enforcement, first responders, legal, healthcare, laboratory, and social service professionals, bridging the gap between fields to move cases forward. Through collaboration, hands-on learning, and expert-led instruction, the Center equips participants with the knowledge, skills, and ethical practices needed to conduct effective investigations and deliver quality service to the public.
What it reported doing in 2024
The college campus, with 19 primary buildings, is located in the western residential section of the city of allentown, Pennsylvania in the lehigh valley, which has a combined population of approximately 820,000. The college is within 55 miles of philadelphia and 90 miles of New York city. The college serves approximately 1,250 students and has a 9:1 student-faculty ratio. The college is accredited by the middle states commission on higher education.a women's college in allentown, Pennsylvania, was first envisioned by the fathers of the united church of christ, who, in 1867, established a program for their daughters to achieve education beyond high school. More than 150 years later, cedar crest remains primarily a women's college dedicated to the education of the next generation of leaders. Through academic courses, student-life programming, athletics, activities, and pre-professional practices, the college empowers students to meet the needs of the future, pursue varied interests, inspire progressive thinking, and contribute to the global community.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 79% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 67% for direct work, and 33% for grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
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: 79
- Transparency & Controls: 75
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 36
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 90.8%; rating input score 91
- Program expense ratio: 80%; rating input score 80
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.69 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 33rd 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: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: No; rating input score 0
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 91.3%; rating input score 91; 40th 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: -3.2%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.84; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 4.2%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 7 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 90.8% of revenue deployed · 80% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 21 of 23 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $47.5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $448K · 35 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $6.4M reported
- Consistency: 39 of 40 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 14 filed money-flow records
- 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 19/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 16/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Related-party transparency scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.