NorthStar Education Finance
Legal name: Northstar Education Finance Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 411961427
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Eagan, MN, United States
- Phone
- (608) 327-1968
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $51,293,468
- Expenses
- $56,826,701
- Assets
- $727,711,214
- Liabilities
- $571,884,799
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- TAIGE THORNTON (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- TAIGE THORNTON (PRESIDENT): $100,000 total reported compensation
- CHARLES OSBORNE (CFO & TREASURER): $99,374 total reported compensation
- JOHN EMERICK (BOARD CHAIR): $37,500 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Provide grants to other organizations in furtherance of NEF's educational mission. Our Mission NorthStar Education Finance, Inc. (NEF) is a qualified 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization and is organized and operated exclusively for charitable and education purposes. NEF’s purpose is to foster, aid, encourage and assist the pursuit of higher education. NEF accomplishes its mission and purpose by reducing the cost of higher education through its Total Higher Education (THE) Loan Program and additionally through its grants program.
What it reported doing in 2024
Manage a portfolio of ffelp (95%) and private (5%) student loans. Due to changes in the federal student loan program, the organization is no longer originating any new ffelp or private loans, but the organization continues to manage an outstanding balance of approximately $605 million as of 9/30/2025. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the organization's officers, the benefits and interest rates provided to student borrowers are more favorable than those from for-profit lenders.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 92% 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 77% for direct work, and 23% for grants.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and program spending has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 88
- Transparency & Controls: 93
- Accountability: 87
- Sustainability: 42
- Growth: 0
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 96.3%; rating input score 96
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 77.8%; rating input score 78; 26th 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: -10.8%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 12.81; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.79; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0.7%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -3.4% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -7.6% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -11.9% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 96.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 9 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $54.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $100K · 12 people listed
- Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $3.2M reported
- Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes grants
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 19 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 9 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 18/100.