College of Lake County Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
362852334
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Grayslake, IL, USA
Phone
8475432091
Rating
90
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,115,278
Expenses
$6,235,407
Assets
$11,852,030
Liabilities
$48,105

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

Leadership & pay

33 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LEIGH ANN JACOBSON (Executive Director & Chief Development Officer (Start November 2024))

Highest reported compensation

  • LEIGH ANN JACOBSON (Executive Director & Chief Development Officer (Start November 2024)): $31,564 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Opening doors to educational opportunity for all of Lake County, Illinois.

What it reported doing in 2024

Payments to the College of Lake County, other organizations and students to be used for grants and scholarships applicable to student tuition and fees.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 96% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 89
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 75
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.5%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 98.1%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: $639.23 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • 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: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 23.2%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.9; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.5%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 20.4% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 18% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.9% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.5% of revenue deployed · 98.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 29 of 29 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $6.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $32K · 33 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 20 of 21 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.