Hildegard College
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 933657133
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2024–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2023
- Location
- Costa Mesa, CA, US
- Phone
- 949.777.6835
- Rating
- 61
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Undergraduate College (4-year)
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $335,941
- Expenses
- $363,129
- Assets
- $26,554
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
4 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MATTHEW SMITH (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- MATTHEW SMITH (PRESIDENT): $23,852 total reported compensation
- JEFFREY TANNER (CFO): $3,375 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Hildegard College offers the only Great Books program integrated with the study of entrepreneurship, for students who think deeply and create boldly, recognizing that the path to solving our future’s most critical challenges requires their formation in faith, thought, and creative work.
What it reported doing in 2024
Enrolled 5 students in our liberal arts and entrepreneurship degree program and provided curriculum, extracurricular activities, internship opportunities, a study abroad trip, and exposure to civic partners. Enrolled 2 business leaders in our entrepreneur lab to support them in designing and launching their redemptive ventures. Also the program hosted 7 great works & entrepreneurship seminars with a total of 67 participants.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 79% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most filed governance safeguards are in place. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 50
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 62
- Sustainability: 26
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 51%; rating input score 51
- Program expense ratio: 46.7%; rating input score 47
- Fundraising efficiency: $17.13 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 50%; rating input score 50; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -8.1%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.07; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 7.5%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 51% of revenue deployed · 46.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 2 of 4 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $170K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $24K · 4 people listed
- Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 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.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 51/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 47/100.
- Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 50/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 54/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 25/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 5/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.