McPherson College

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
480543736
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
McPherson, KS, USA
Phone
800.365.7402
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$67,427,262
Expenses
$48,485,421
Assets
$825,187,209
Liabilities
$37,667,461

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

Leadership & pay

33 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHAEL SCHNEIDER (COLLEGE PRES): $494,899 total reported compensation
  • AARON MEIS (EXECUTIVE VP): $206,266 total reported compensation
  • CAROL SUMMERVILL (VP FOR FINAN): $183,467 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Mission Driven-Data Informed-Collaborative Improvement

What it reported doing in 2024

Mcpherson college's mission is to "develop whole persons through scholarship, participation, and service" within a career-focused liberal arts environment. In 2023, the college secured an unprecedented 1b commitment to its endowment, marking one of the largest single endowment commitments of any small liberal arts college in the u.s. Nationally recognized by u.s. News & world report, money magazine, and the chronicle of higher education's "great colleges to work for," mcpherson college is renowned for its innovative programs. Its automotive restoration program, the first four-year degree program of its kind, made history when a student-restored mercedes-benz 300 s earned a class award at the pebble beach concours d'elegance - the first time a student-restored car received such an honor at the prestigious concours. Learn about all of its programs at www.mcpherson.edu.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 62% 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 50% for direct work, and 50% 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 reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 85
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 66.3%; rating input score 66
  • Program expense ratio: 85.5%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.06 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: 28.1%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 17.02; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.4%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 18% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 21.2% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 66.3% of revenue deployed · 85.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 25 of 25 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $41.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $495K · 33 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $13.8M reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 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: 8 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.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 48/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.