Emerson College

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
041286950
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Boston, MA, USA
Phone
6178248500
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$340,234,910
Expenses
$348,760,928
Assets
$1,162,646,095
Liabilities
$556,693,904

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

Leadership & pay

41 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JAY BERNHARDT (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • JAY BERNHARDT (PRESIDENT): $1,050,166 total reported compensation
  • PAUL DWORKIS (VP ADMIN & FIN (THRU 01/2025)): $513,912 total reported compensation
  • ALLISON DAWSON (VP FOR INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT): $409,485 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

See schedule o.emerson college's mission is to educate and elevate extraordinary artists, communicators, scholars, and professionals for the betterment of humanity. We pursue this mission through world-class teaching, practice, performance, and discovery that are experiential, innovative, and inclusive.

What it reported doing in 2024

Emerson college's mission is to educate and elevate extraordinary artists, communicators, scholars, and professionals for the betterment of humanity. We pursue this mission through world-class teaching, practice, performance, and discovery that are experiential, innovative, and inclusive. The college educates approximately 3,500 undergraduate and 1,300 graduate students annually - this year from 50 u.s. States, Washington, d.c., puerto rico, the us virgin islands, and 69 countries. The college has more than 600 full and part-time faculty.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 89% 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 74% for direct work, and 26% 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: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 96
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.4%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 84.4%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.66 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • 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: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 42nd 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: -2.5%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.33; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.48; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.3%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.4% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 83.4% of revenue deployed · 84.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 26 of 28 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $294.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.1M · 41 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $38M reported
  • Consistency: 43 of 43 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 13 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: 12 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.
  • 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: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 38/100.