Kansas Independent College Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
480636041
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Topeka, KS, USA
Phone
9134844706
Rating
58
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Higher Education Institutions

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,565,462
Expenses
$1,253,257
Assets
$3,150,844
Liabilities
$229,345

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Matthew E Lindsey (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Matthew E Lindsey (Executive Director): $218,160 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

KICA seeks to strengthen Kansas's non-profit colleges and universities through collaborative programming and statewide advocacy. The Association develops, promotes, and directs unified approaches to selected corporations, foundations, and individuals for financial support of member institutions.

What it reported doing in 2025

A range of activities to strengthen 21 member colleges, including financial support, student aid, improved administrative services, professional development for faculty/staff.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 88% 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

MIXED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 69
  • Accountability: 16
  • Sustainability: 62
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.7%; rating input score 68
  • Program expense ratio: 73.2%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.39 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • 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: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 63.1%; rating input score 63; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 19.9%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.51; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 17.4%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.1% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.8% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 67.7% of revenue deployed · 73.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 21 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $917K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $218K · 22 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 30 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 22 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 29 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 39/100.