Pomona College

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
951664112
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
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$501,709,667
Expenses
$318,676,147
Assets
$4,197,450,352
Liabilities
$426,606,146

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

Leadership & pay

51 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • G GABRIELLE STARR (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • G GABRIELLE STARR (PRESIDENT): $1,638,758 total reported compensation
  • DAVID WALLACE (ASST TREASURER/CIO): $708,436 total reported compensation
  • JOSHUA ROSS (DIR OF INVESTMENTS): $520,710 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Pomona College is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California, dedicated to providing a rigorous, residential undergraduate education that fosters intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, and a commitment to the common good.

What it reported doing in 2024

Instruction and research: consistently ranked as one of the top national liberal arts colleges according to u.s. News and world report, pomona college offers an academic program that encompasses the major fields of the arts, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences. Learning is encouraged through theory-building and empirical research, historical and linguistic analysis, inquiry and ethical debate. Pomona's liberal arts curriculum, small classes, residential campus and sophisticated laboratories and studios prepare students for lives of personal fulfillment and social responsibility in a global context. Pomona graduates not only receive excellent lifelong preparation for a wide range of careers, but also are encouraged to develop the rational discrimination, aesthetic appreciation, compassion and understanding that only knowledge can foster. In 2024-25, 18 recipients from pomona college were awarded fulbright awards, placing pomona as a top producer of fulbright students among bachelor's institutions, as reported by the chronicle of higher education. Pomona offers 48 fields of studies / majors in the natural sciences, humanities, social sciences fine arts and interdisciplinary fields. Also common are double majors and individual special majors, crafted by the student with guidance from faculty. First-year students delve into a critical inquiry seminar to develop skills in critical thinking, analysis and writing. Pomona's summer undergraduate research program enables students to conduct extended, focused research in close cooperation with a pomona faculty member, with projects taking place both on campus and in the field. The college offers about 650 courses each year, and students also have access to nearly 2,700 courses at the claremont colleges.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 60% 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 78% for direct work, and 22% 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: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 86
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 88.2%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.3 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: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • 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: 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: 96.6%; rating input score 97; 51st 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: 36.5%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 13.17; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.9%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 88.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 28 of 29 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $281M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.6M · 51 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $7.1M reported
  • Consistency: 45 of 45 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 13 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: 30 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 7/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.