Knox College

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
370673513
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Galesburg, Illinois, USA
Phone
1-309-341-7000
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$103,848,516
Expenses
$113,233,546
Assets
$286,131,504
Liabilities
$70,531,627

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

Leadership & pay

54 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR C ANDREW MCGADNEY (PRESIDENT & EX OFFCIO TRUSTEE)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR C ANDREW MCGADNEY (PRESIDENT & EX OFFCIO TRUSTEE): $624,278 total reported compensation
  • HEATHER BUMPS (VP FOR STRATEGIC INITIATES): $268,250 total reported compensation
  • MONICA KEITH (VP FOR ADVANCEMENT): $241,625 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Knox College's mission is to provide a liberal arts education that fosters intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, and a commitment to social responsibility, preparing students for meaningful lives and careers.

What it reported doing in 2024

Higher education: our mission is carried out through our curriculum, the character of our learning environment, our residential campus culture, and our community. Knox college has a tradition of free inquiry, independent thought, and diverse perspectives. Our students choose their own path towards a degree, guided by scholar teachers who encourage them to explore ideas and places, stretch their intellect and their talents, blend thought with action, and fuse imagination with initiative. Founded in 1837 by social reformers strongly opposed to slavery, knox was one of the first colleges in the united states open to both women and people of color. It was on our campus where abraham lincoln chose to denounce slavery on moral terms for the first time during the 1858 lincoln-douglas debate. With a campus population that includes students from 42 states and 56 countries, 38% u.s. Students of color, and individuals from every imaginable religious and socioeconomic background. Members of the knox community are actively challenged to broaden their points of view. Knox college is a college that changes lives (1,127 students)

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 75% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 51% for direct work, and 49% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 96.4%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 83.5%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.78 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th 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: 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: 97.4%; rating input score 97; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: -9%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.53; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.25; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.9%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 96.4% of revenue deployed · 83.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 37 of 38 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $94.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $624K · 54 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $12.8M reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, 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
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.