LaGrange College

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
580566199
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Aug 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
LaGrange, GA, US
Phone
706-880-8005
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$44,028,051
Expenses
$39,557,386
Assets
$166,954,040
Liabilities
$37,520,655

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

Leadership & pay

40 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SUSANNA BAXTER (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • SUSANNA BAXTER (PRESIDENT): $298,952 total reported compensation
  • JERRY FORSTER (VP - FINANCE AND OPERATIONS): $182,173 total reported compensation
  • BRIAN PETERSON (VP - ACADEMIC AFFAIRS): $173,177 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

LaGrange College fosters curiosity and fuels passion, helping students unlock their potential and discover endless possibilities.

What it reported doing in 2024

LaGrange College offers an Associate of Science degree with 1 major program, an Associate of Arts degree with 1 major program, a Bachelor of Arts degree with 17 major programs, a Bachelor of Science degree with 5 major programs, a Bachelor of Business Administration with 2 major programs, a Bachelor of Music with 1 major program, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. At the Graduate level, the college offers the Master of Arts in Teaching with 1 major program, the Master of Education with 2 major programs, the Master of Science with 1 major program, the Educational Specialist with 1 major program, the Master of Arts with 1 major program, a Doctor of Education with 1 major program, and 2 Certificates. In addition, during the 2024-2025 academic year, there were 681 undergraduate and 242 graduate students enrolled at the college. Of that number 475 were residential. During the 2024-2025 academic year, the college awarded 219 degrees and 9 certificates. During the year, there were 391 students who participated in at least one of the college's NCAA division iii athletic programs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 76% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 60% for direct work, and 40% 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 liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 96
  • Sustainability: 71
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.9%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 83.2%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $14.72 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 94.3%; rating input score 94; 27th 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: 10.2%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.22; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.22; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.7%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 78.9% of revenue deployed · 83.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 33 of 35 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $32.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $299K · 40 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $5.4M reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 49/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.