Dominican University of California

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
941156525
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
San Rafael, CA, USA
Phone
(415) 457-4440
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Graduate, Professional Schools (Separate Entities)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$91,946,453
Expenses
$94,570,456
Assets
$114,218,384
Liabilities
$38,587,244

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

Leadership & pay

34 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • NICOLA PITCHFORD (PRESIDENT)
  • SHERRY MICHELLE RUMOLD WANGENHEIM (VICE PRESIDENT FOR FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION)
  • KYMBERLY L SNEAD (VICE PRESIDENT FOR FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION)

Highest reported compensation

  • NICOLA PITCHFORD (PRESIDENT): $515,883 total reported compensation
  • YUNG-JAE LEE (DEAN OF BUSINESS SCHOOL): $347,063 total reported compensation
  • KYMBERLY L SNEAD (VICE PRESIDENT FOR FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION): $306,331 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Dominican University of California is a Catholic university that integrates the liberal arts, sciences, and professional programs with a commitment to social justice and sustainability.

What it reported doing in 2024

The university provides advanced educational services to approximately 1,857 undergraduate and graduate students. Dominican is ranked among the top 16 in best value schools - regional universities (west). News & world report, listed 174 out of 3,410 institutions nationwide for providing the highest return on investment to low-income students (georgetown university center on education and the workforce, 2022). In the same study, dominican ranked 9 of 43 private, nonprofit undergraduate institutions in California. Dominican ranked 5th for best value colleges in the san francisco bay area in 2023 by niche.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 90% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 60% for direct work, and 40% 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 97
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85.3%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 82.7%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.32 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 95.2%; rating input score 95; 48th 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: -2.9%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.21; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.34; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.8%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.7% per year; rating input score 100; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 85.3% of revenue deployed · 82.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 21 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $78.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $516K · 34 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $4.9M reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 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 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 46/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 41/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.