Lake Forest Graduate School of Management

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237013253
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Lake Forest, IL, USA
Phone
8472345005
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,009,714
Expenses
$7,366,011
Assets
$10,192,025
Liabilities
$594,602

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Jeffrey Anderson (President & CEO)
  • Todd Brockway (Vice President, Business Development & Operations/Business Faculty Leader)

Highest reported compensation

  • Carrie Buchwald (Sr VP Center for Leadership): $337,450 total reported compensation
  • Susan Wynne (Bus Dev Director): $320,858 total reported compensation
  • Thomas Perozzi (VP Finance & CFO (Through 8/31/24)): $275,436 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Lake Forest Graduate School of Management's mission is to bring the real world to business education and leadership development.

What it reported doing in 2024

Lake forest graduate school of management combines traditional and leading-edge academics with a practitioner faculty that provides a dynamic connection with the real world of business. This distinctive approach responds directly to the results-oriented demands of today's business environment while satisfying academic rigor. Our faculty members offer diverse perspectives and represent a wide array of organizations, industries, and functions. They blend solid business theory with practical experience, so students receive a hands-on education that is unmatched. All of our faculty members have extensive practical experience in the subject areas they teach. Building on the skills students bring to the program, our courses sharpen their analytical abilities by combining course work with day-to-day professional experiences. Our general mba program offers a broad knowledge base in every area needed for success in today's business world. Interactive and personal, our faculty members incorporate a wide range of teaching methodologies, including facilitated discussion on issues and responsibilities facing management today.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 79% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 92% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.3%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 72.6%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 14th 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: -144.7%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.38; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 27.1%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.4% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -5.2% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.4% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 83.3% of revenue deployed · 72.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $5.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $337K · 12 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 49/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.