Northeastern Illinois University Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237034689
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
7734424248
Rating
90
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,238,728
Expenses
$1,938,432
Assets
$26,473,745
Liabilities
$617,913

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • OLGA CAMARGO (PRESIDENT)
  • LIESL DOWNEY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • LIESL DOWNEY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $140,643 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The primary function of the foundation is to develop private support on behalf of the university, to promote the university's mission and to receive and administer contributions. In this way, the foundation plays a vital role in ensuring that the university remains highly affordable, while retaining the highest academic standards. Private contributions, when added to state resources, add an extra dimension of support that otherwise would not be possible.

What it reported doing in 2024

The foundation provided the following support to northeastern Illinois university during the fiscal year ended june 30, 2025: 1) the neiu foundation raised $1,225,910 in contributions and grants, of which$270,910 were restricted to the foundation's endowment to benefit future students and university operations, including academic and cultural programs, colleges, departments and other units; 2) the neiufoundation provided $1,118,786 to the university, which included $925,984 for the support of various academic, grant, and insitutional activities. In addition, the foundation provided $864,185 of scholarships to students, some of whom would not otherwise be able to benefit from the excellent education available at northeastern Illinois university. (continued on schedule o)most northeastern students (72%) receive financial aid of some kind, and a critical part of this support comes from private donations.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 61% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 52% for direct work, and 48% 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. Revenue has declined or grown slowly and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 91
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 78
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 94.5%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 92.4%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $41.34 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 13.4%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 13.66; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.2%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.5% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.5% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 94.5% of revenue deployed · 92.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $141K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: CEO compensation review process not reported.