Oakton Community College Educational Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
362917302
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Des Plaines, IL, USA
Phone
8476351893
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community or Junior Colleges

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,056,516
Expenses
$2,394,283
Assets
$23,838,484
Liabilities
$192,322

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

Leadership & pay

26 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MS JULIE FENTON (PRESIDENT)
  • MR MURRAY SPRUNG (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)
  • MR JEFF CONEY (VICE PRESIDENT/PRESIDENT ELECT)
  • DR JOIANNE SMITH (COLLEGE PRESIDENT)
  • MS KATHERINE SAWYER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR JOIANNE SMITH (COLLEGE PRESIDENT): $417,674 total reported compensation
  • MS KATHERINE SAWYER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $209,040 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 enable student success.

What it reported doing in 2024

The foundation oversees almost 180 active scholarships and distributed 734 scholarship awards to 669 individual students to assist scholars who face financial barriers to access, persistance, and success in college. Scholarship awards are made based on criteria established by donors, which may include but is not limited to academic excellence, demonstrated leadership strengths, specific programs of study, and financial need.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as 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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 87
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.4%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 87%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $60.75 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 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: 41%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.96; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.2%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.1% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.9% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 75.4% of revenue deployed · 87% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 6 filed program accomplishments · $2.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $418K · 26 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: CEO compensation review process not reported.