Northern Illinois Research Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 364436635
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Dekalb, IL, USA
- Phone
- 8157530828
- Rating
- 62
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Single Organization Support
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $266,075
- Expenses
- $261,200
- Assets
- $121,466
- Liabilities
- $30,774
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DR RICHARD MOCARSKI (PRESIDENT)
- DR ROBERT BRINKMANN (VICE PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- DR DAVE GREWELL (DIRECTOR): $379,831 total reported compensation
- DR RICHARD MOCARSKI (PRESIDENT): $361,649 total reported compensation
- DR ROBERT BRINKMANN (VICE PRESIDENT): $334,620 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Northern Illinois research foundation was established for the principal purpose of operating solely in connection with, and exclusively for the benefit of northern Illinois university, non-profit research and development institutions, allied and clinical health facilities, and laboratories to enhance and expand the educational, research, public service, and economic goals of the university.
What it reported doing in 2024
The organization's mission is to facilitate research and development activities for the benefit of northern Illinois university.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Affiliate-supported. 71% of the money available for current operations came from contributions from related organizations.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 69
- Transparency & Controls: 64
- Accountability: 66
- Sustainability: 30
- Growth: 0
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 65.7%; rating input score 66
- Program expense ratio: 67%; rating input score 67
- Fundraising efficiency: $157.75 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 57.1%; rating input score 57; 17th 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: 1.8%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.47; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.25; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 124.9%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -21.1% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -6.1% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -24.2% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 65.7% of revenue deployed · 67% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 4 of 7 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $175K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $380K · 10 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 18 of 18 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- 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: Independent voting board scored 57/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 44/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 23/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.