Pitzer College Costa Rica

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
320152376
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Claremont, CA, USA
Phone
9096218043
Rating
62
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Nonmonetary Support N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$100,000
Expenses
$121,302
Assets
$2,290,460
Liabilities
$1,904,749

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Strom C Thacker (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Strom C Thacker (President): $714,200 total reported compensation
  • Laura Schaefer (COO, VP and Treasurer): $495,159 total reported compensation
  • Allen M Omoto - VP of (Academic Affairs/Dean of Faculty): $381,044 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 own real property in Costa Rica for the benefit of the educational curriculum of Pitzer College and in support of the Firestone Center for Restoration Ecology.

What it reported doing in 2024

Own and operate the Firestone Center for Restoration Ecology in Costa Rica in conjunction with Pitzer College educational programs in Costa Rica.

Operating model

Revenue model
Affiliate-supported. 100% 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 program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 44
  • Accountability: 44
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 85.4%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 20%; rating input score 20; 15th 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: -21.3%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 18.88; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.83; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 337.8%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.9% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 27.8% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 85.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $104K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $714K · 5 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 20/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 13/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 7/100.