Point Park University

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
251094922
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Phone
4123923992
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$132,666,014
Expenses
$140,990,401
Assets
$187,089,752
Liabilities
$52,546,209

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

Leadership & pay

41 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CHRIS W BRUSSALIS EDD (PRESIDENT)
  • MARLIN COLLINGWOOD (VICE PRESIDENT OF ENROLLMENT MGMT)

Highest reported compensation

  • CHRIS W BRUSSALIS EDD (PRESIDENT): $711,474 total reported compensation
  • BRIDGET MANCOSH (SR VP FINANCE/BOARD TREASURER): $445,502 total reported compensation
  • THEODORE BLACK (SR. VP OF INST. ADV. & STRATEGY): $396,092 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Provides innovative education in a dynamic urban setting. Dedicated to academic excellence and community engagement, we prepare students of diverse backgrounds with the knowledge, skill, and experience to lead meaningful lives as informed citizens and successful professionals.

What it reported doing in 2024

Instruction- includes 6 academic schools; school of arts & sciences, rowland school of business, school of communication, school of dance, school of theatre, film & animation, and school of education, serving 2,337 undergraduate and 1,111 graduate students (fall 2024 census), as well as the pittsburgh playhouse which provides applied training for students. Popular areas of study are cinema arts, dance, theatre, criminal justice & national security, social sciences, engineering technology, psychology, accounting, economics, finance, applied computer science, business management, sports, arts, & entertainment management, communications, community engagement, & education. In addition to numerous undergraduate degrees, the school offers 23 master's degrees and 3 doctoral degrees.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 93% 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 63% for direct work, and 37% for 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 95.3%; rating input score 95
  • Program expense ratio: 88.7%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.2 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 6 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 50%; rating input score 50; 10th 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; 77th 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: -6.3%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.33; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.28; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.7%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 95.3% of revenue deployed · 88.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $125.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $711K · 41 people listed · 6 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $11.3M reported
  • Consistency: 45 of 46 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 14 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 22 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 5 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 11/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 49/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 58/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.