Ithaca College

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
150532204
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2012
Location
Ithaca, NY, USA
Phone
(607) 274-3011
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$332,654,613
Expenses
$344,860,620
Assets
$897,011,757
Liabilities
$158,014,697

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

Leadership & pay

54 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LA JERNE TERRY CORNISH (PRESIDENT)
  • NICOLE EVERSLEY BRADWELL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ADMISSION)

Highest reported compensation

  • LA JERNE TERRY CORNISH (PRESIDENT): $752,094 total reported compensation
  • ANNE HOGAN THRU 0624 (DEAN, MUSIC THEATRE AND DANCE): $396,014 total reported compensation
  • TIMOTHY C DOWNS (VP FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION, CFO): $356,372 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Unlock Your True Potential

What it reported doing in 2024

Academic support: academic support includes expenses incurred to provide support services for the college's primary program service of instruction, research, and public service. It includes the following activities: the retention, preservation, and display of educational materials at the ithaca college library, the handwerker gallery, and other gallery spaces; information technology services deployed at the college, particularly services within the themes of campus engagement and teaching & learning; academic administration and personnel providing administrative support and management direction to the primary program service; and separately budgeted support for course and curriculum development.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 93% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 58% for direct work, and 42% 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: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.7%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 88.4%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.47 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 18; 18th 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: 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: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st 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; 32nd 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: -3.7%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.6; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.1%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: 93.7% of revenue deployed · 88.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 26 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $304.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $752K · 54 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $13.8M reported
  • Consistency: 46 of 46 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 13 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 36 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 6 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.
  • 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: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 15/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 54/100.