Lincoln University

Legal name: Lincoln University Foundation of Pa

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
842085409
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Lincoln University, PA, US
Phone
484-365-8000
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$12,079,818
Expenses
$19,930,458
Assets
$6,726,534
Liabilities
$1,166,477

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR BRENDA A ALLEN (PRESIDENT)
  • HARRY STINSON III (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR BRENDA A ALLEN (PRESIDENT): $567,660 total reported compensation
  • WILBOURNE RUSERE (VP FOR FINANCE AND ADMIN): $252,401 total reported compensation
  • HARRY STINSON III (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $186,314 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Lincoln University, the nation's first degree-granting Historically Black College and University (HBCU), provides a rigorous liberal arts education that prepares students for leadership and service in a global society.

What it reported doing in 2024

The foundation collects contributions and gifts for the benefit of lincoln university.

Operating model

Revenue model
Affiliate-supported. 88% of the money available for current operations came from contributions from related organizations.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 21
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 97.2%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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: 90%; rating input score 90; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -65%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.34; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.9%; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 66.6% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -26.5% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -19.7% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 97.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 10 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $19.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $568K · 12 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 9/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.