Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU)

Legal name: Council for Christian Colleges and Universities

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521247182
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Jul 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2025468713
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$9,955,413
Expenses
$9,735,710
Assets
$19,824,819
Liabilities
$3,340,851

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

Leadership & pay

28 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • David Hoag (Member (JUL-JAN)/President)
  • Shirley Hoogstra (President)
  • Mandi Bolton (Sr Vice President, CFO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Shirley Hoogstra (President): $315,029 total reported compensation
  • Mandi Bolton (Sr Vice President, CFO): $217,992 total reported compensation
  • David Hoag (Member (JUL-JAN)/President): $206,709 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 Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) advances Christ-centered higher education and helps its institutions transform lives by relating scholarship and service to biblical truth. Through an array of initiatives, we promote the development of high-quality academic research projects, provide opportunities for faculty to conduct innovative research with peers from other campuses, and provide administrators with opportunities to gain the most current information in order to lead highly successful campuses that employ best practices for student thriving and academic success. To fulfill our mission and meet the needs of our institutions, we provide unique services for administration, faculty, students, and friends of Christian higher education in three pillars of strategic focus: Our Three Pillars of Strategic Focus.

What it reported doing in 2024

Professional Development & Scholarship: We host numerous conferences for administrators to develop their skills, build connections with peer leaders, and equip them in their work to provide a holistic Christ-centered educational experience for their students. We also invest in faculty development and scholarship through institutes and grants intended to help faculty excel in their scholarship and integrate faith into their discipline. Our leadership institutes also play a pivotal role in ensuring that the pipeline of leaders in Christian higher education is filled with a diverse pool of highly qualified candidates.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 62% for direct work, and 38% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 92
  • Sustainability: 46
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.9%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 73.8%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $18.11 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 95.2%; rating input score 95; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2.2%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.04; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.3%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -5.4% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 74.9% of revenue deployed · 73.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 21 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $7.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $315K · 28 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 56/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 42/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 48/100.