Postsecondary Commission

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
871031412
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Boston, MA, USA
Phone
3392448914
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,065,500
Expenses
$2,380,968
Assets
$2,990,718
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STIG LESCHLY (PRESIDENT)
  • CAROL RAVA (VICE PRESIDENT, OPERATIONS & EXTERNAL AFFAIRS)
  • LISA DAGGS (VICE PRESIDENT, STRATEGY & ADVANCEMENT)
  • JENNIFER DIRMEYER (VICE PRESIDENT, ACCREDITATION)
  • CHELSEA PENNUCCI (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • STIG LESCHLY (PRESIDENT): $303,000 total reported compensation
  • CAROL RAVA (VICE PRESIDENT, OPERATIONS & EXTERNAL AFFAIRS): $289,926 total reported compensation
  • LISA DAGGS (VICE PRESIDENT, STRATEGY & ADVANCEMENT): $280,395 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The postsecondary commission is an accreditor of institutions of higher education that provide strong economic outcomes to their students.

What it reported doing in 2024

See schedule o

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 62
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 54.7%; rating input score 55
  • Program expense ratio: 70.4%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.44 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • 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: 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: 22.3%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.26; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 64.4%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 58.8% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 60.2% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 50.2% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 54.7% of revenue deployed · 70.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $303K · 16 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $239K reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 55/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 42/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 45/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.