Georgia Highlands College Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237332373
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Rome, GA, USA
Phone
7068675457
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Community or Junior Colleges

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,914,369
Expenses
$1,630,172
Assets
$19,415,980
Liabilities
$12,264,962

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LIZ JONES (SECRETARY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • SARAH BRADFIELD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • LIZ JONES (SECRETARY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $97,484 total reported compensation
  • SARAH BRADFIELD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT): $46,766 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 mission of the foundation is to cultivate, solicit, and manage private support for the benefit of students, faculty, and staff, programs, campuses and instructional sites of Georgia highlands college. The foundation is committed to raising awareness of the college and its programs, maximizing fundraising potential, strategically investing the endowment to ensure its growth over time, and providing the necessary capital and endowment support to offer a quality higher education experience.

What it reported doing in 2024

To provide scholarships and support Georgia highlands college.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 64% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 72% 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. 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: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 67
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.5%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 93.6%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: $120.33 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 84.6%; rating input score 85; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 14.8%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 11.91; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.63; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.8%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.2% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.5% of revenue deployed · 93.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 13 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $97K · 17 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 12/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 41/100.