Pitzer College

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
952261113
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Claremont, CA, USA
Phone
(909) 621-8000
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$113,582,839
Expenses
$112,086,533
Assets
$381,744,220
Liabilities
$94,285,713

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

Leadership & pay

45 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Strom C Thacker (President)
  • James S Marchant (Vice President & Chief of Staff)
  • Elisa Alban-Ashley (Executive Director of Operations)

Highest reported compensation

  • Strom C Thacker (President): $714,200 total reported compensation
  • Laura Schaefer (COO, VP and Treasurer): $495,159 total reported compensation
  • Sharon N Snowiss (Professor/Faculty (thru 07/24)): $432,009 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Pitzer College is a community of thinkers who ask hard questions. We break boundaries in academics, culture, and society.

What it reported doing in 2024

Pitzer College is an educational institution focusing on undergraduate education. The undergraduate full time equivalent enrollment for the year was 1,169 students. Pitzer College produces engaged socially responsible citizens of the world through an academically rigorous, interdisciplinary liberal arts education, emphasizing social justice, intercultural understanding and environmental sensitivity.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 90% 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 76% for direct work, 24% for grants, and 0% for affiliated organizations.
  • 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.7%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 85.8%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.39 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 96.8%; rating input score 97; 52nd 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: 1.3%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.41; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.25; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 81.7% of revenue deployed · 85.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 30 of 31 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $96.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $714K · 45 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $5.9M reported
  • Consistency: 45 of 45 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 13 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 7/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 39/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.