NIU Foundation
Legal name: Northern Illinois University Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 366086819
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Dekalb, IL, USA
- Phone
- 8157530282
- Rating
- 63
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Single Organization Support
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $60,306,566
- Expenses
- $18,644,228
- Assets
- $235,186,416
- Liabilities
- $17,495,281
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
43 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- CATHERINE SQUIRES (PRESIDENT/CEO, SECRETARY-THRU 6/30/25)
Highest reported compensation
- CATHERINE SQUIRES (PRESIDENT/CEO, SECRETARY-THRU 6/30/25): $362,060 total reported compensation
- MICHAEL J DAIGLER (AVP, COO): $278,148 total reported compensation
- RAYMOND JACKSON (AVP, CDO): $255,642 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To secure private support for Northern Illinois University, fostering philanthropy and engagement among alumni and friends to advance the university's mission.
What it reported doing in 2024
See schedule o
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 88% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 88% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - Most voting board members are independent and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 46
- Transparency & Controls: 56
- Accountability: 91
- Sustainability: 88
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 30.1%; rating input score 30
- Program expense ratio: 71.1%; rating input score 71
- Fundraising efficiency: $17.27 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 4th 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: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 97.3%; rating input score 97; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: No; rating input score 0
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: 69.1%; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 12.61; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 3.1%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 30.1% of revenue deployed · 71.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 29 of 29 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $13.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $362K · 43 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.1M reported
- Consistency: 31 of 33 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
- Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 4 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 30/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 54/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Related-party transparency scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 36/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.