North Park University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
361557840
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
7732445710
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
University or Technological Institute

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$102,582,608
Expenses
$104,311,197
Assets
$334,022,006
Liabilities
$81,324,836

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

Leadership & pay

35 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARY SURRIDGE (PRESIDENT AND EX OFFICIO)
  • TAMMY SWANSON-DRAHEIM (ECC PRESIDENT EX OFFICIO)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARY SURRIDGE (PRESIDENT AND EX OFFICIO): $408,830 total reported compensation
  • ANTHONY SCOLA (VP ENROLLMENT MGT): $258,907 total reported compensation
  • MICHAEL CARR (PROVOST): $257,398 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

North park university is an accredited institution of higher education. The school offers over 65 undergraduate degree programs as well as pre-professional and certificate programs. (continued on schedule o)our mission is to prepare students for lives of significance and service through liberal arts and theological studies.

What it reported doing in 2024

North park university provided undergraduate and graduate degree programs to approximately 2,500 students during the year. Of this total, approximately 1,800 students were undergraduates and 700 were graduate and adult students. The university offered 42 undergraduate degree majors plus 40 concentrations and pre-professional programs. The university also offered graduate degree programs in business administration, nursing, education, clinical mental health counseling, music, and theology. In addition, the university also provided residential living for approximately 800 students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 80% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 66% for direct work, and 34% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 46
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 94%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 89.2%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.13 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • 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: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: -1.7%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.2; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.24; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.2% per year; rating input score 100; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 94% of revenue deployed · 89.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 26 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $93M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $409K · 35 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $9.1M reported
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 27/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 55/100.