Saint Michael's College

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
030179403
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Colchester, VT, USA
Phone
8026542915
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
University or Technological Institute
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$94,490,565
Expenses
$109,601,960
Assets
$179,408,557
Liabilities
$65,839,009

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

Leadership & pay

36 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RICHARD PLUMB (PRESIDENT/TRUSTEE)
  • TERRI SELBY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR IN INST. ADV.)

Highest reported compensation

  • RICHARD PLUMB (PRESIDENT/TRUSTEE): $477,649 total reported compensation
  • DAWN M ELLINWOOD (VP FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS): $239,967 total reported compensation
  • ROBERT ROBINSON (VP FOR FINANCE/TREASURER): $231,714 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

It is the mission of saint michael's college to contribute through higher education to the enhancement of the human person and to the advancement of human culture in the light of the catholic faith.

What it reported doing in 2024

Academic program and financial aid, see sch o

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 88% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 59% for direct work, and 41% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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: 74
  • Accountability: 93
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 88.3%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.08 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 11; 11th 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: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Fail
    • 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; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 96.4%; rating input score 96; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -16%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.64; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.37; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.9%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.2% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.6% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.5% per year; rating input score 100; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 88.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 27 of 28 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $96.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $478K · 36 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.6M reported
  • Consistency: 42 of 42 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: 9 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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: 8 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 56/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.