College Foundation, Inc.

Legal name: College Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
566046937
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Aug 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Phone
866.866.CFNC (2362)
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$31,717,688
Expenses
$32,113,959
Assets
$55,777,315
Liabilities
$6,178,557

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Wendy H McAlister (President & CEO)
  • Pete Rau (Vice President)
  • Lynn Barnette (Vice President)
  • Marcia Southerland (Vice President)
  • Rob Hines (Vice President)
  • Shannon Byers (President & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Wendy H McAlister (President & CEO): $290,499 total reported compensation
  • Pete Rau (Vice President): $227,122 total reported compensation
  • Martin L Flournory (IT Development Manager): $200,326 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To provide free, online college planning, career exploration, and financial aid resources to students, families, and educators across North Carolina.

What it reported doing in 2024

Educational loan programs: As of June 30, 2025, the Foundation was servicing 16,819 loans to 7,644 borrowers with an outstanding principal balance of $167,630,987. The Foundation services loans for higher education to North Carolinians attending institutions of higher education, as well as for students enrolled at institutions of higher education in North Carolina. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, the Foundation serviced EXTRA Education loans for borrowers attending schools in North Carolina to cover qualified higher education expenses not included under North Carolina's Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP); EXTRA MBA loans for borrowers enrolled in the Kenan Flagler Business School MBA or MAC programs at UNC Chapel Hill who were unable to secure loans under North Carolina's FFELP or the EXTRA Education loan program; and NC Assist loans designed to help bridge the gap between the cost of attendance and other financial aid for students who are NC residents attending an eligible non-profit Title IV institution anywhere or nonresident students attending an eligible non-profit Title IV institution in North Carolina or for the parents of such students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 65% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Revenue has declined or grown slowly and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 94.1%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 92.6%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th 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: -1.2%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.74; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.2% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.4% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 94.1% of revenue deployed · 92.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $29.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $290K · 22 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $8.9M reported
  • Consistency: 43 of 43 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 12 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 — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 26/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 36/100.