Gustavus Adolphus College

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
410695524
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Saint Peter, MN, USA
Phone
5079338000
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$151,267,734
Expenses
$157,681,375
Assets
$565,537,437
Liabilities
$86,356,689

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

Leadership & pay

42 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Rebecca M Bergman (President)
  • Curtis J Kowaleski (CFO Vice President of Finance and Treasurer)
  • Thomas W Young (Vice President for Institutional Advancement)
  • Kim Frisch (Vice President for Enrollment Management)
  • Timothy R Kennedy (Vice President for Marketing)

Highest reported compensation

  • Rebecca M Bergman (President): $438,458 total reported compensation
  • Brenda S Kelly (Provost and Dean of the College): $272,269 total reported compensation
  • Curtis J Kowaleski (CFO Vice President of Finance and Treasurer): $232,487 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Gustavus equips students to lead purposeful lives and to act on the great challenges of our time through an innovative liberal arts education of recognized excellence. The purpose of a Gustavus education is to help its students attain their full potential as persons, to develop in them a capacity and passion for lifelong learning, and to prepare them for fulfilling lives of leadership and service in society. Read the full Gustavus Mission Statement Gustavus Adolphus College is a church-related, residential liberal arts college firmly rooted in its Swedish and Lutheran heritage. The Mission of Gustavus The purpose of a Gustavus education is to help its students attain their full potential as persons, to develop in them a capacity and passion for lifelong learning, and to prepare them for fulfilling lives of leadership and service in society. Read the full Gustavus Mission Statement.

What it reported doing in 2024

Auxiliary Services: As a residential college, Gustavus is committed to residence hall living as a vital complement to its academic program. Approximately 93% of students live in College-owned residences and eat in the College's Dining Service. During Fall 2024, 1,733 students lived in College-owned residences. The College bookstore provides textbooks and other educational supplies for students. Other items for sale include: clothing embossed with the College's insignia, books and miscellaneous novelty items.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 85% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 57% for direct work, and 43% for 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 47
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 93.5%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.08 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 95.2%; rating input score 95; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • 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: 88.2%; rating input score 88; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -4.2%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.59; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.2%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 93.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 30 of 34 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $147.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $438K · 42 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.7M reported
  • Consistency: 45 of 46 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 14 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: 16 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 16/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.