The American College Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
233015130
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2020
Forms available
Form 990 2020
Location
King of Prussia, PA, USA
Phone
6105261000
Rating
41
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,008,815
Expenses
$0
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

31 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • George Nichols (President & CEO)
  • Todd Schoon (Executive Vice President)
  • Stephen Grourke (Senior Vice President, Advancement)

Highest reported compensation

  • George Nichols (President & CEO): $978,631 total reported compensation
  • Stephen Grourke (Senior Vice President, Advancement): $313,221 total reported compensation
  • Yi Tang (CFO (term'd 5/20)): $226,834 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The purpose of The American College Foundation was to solicit and manage funds for the benefit of The American College through the establishment and execution of investment policies and procedures designed to preserve and enlarge such funds and to oversee and participate in the active solicitation of endowment and special gifts for the benefit of The American College.

What it reported doing in 2020

Until its merger into the The American College (EIN 23-1352008) on September 16, 2020, the Foundation solicited funds for The American College in support of its mission and strategic objectives and over saw the investment of those funds pursuant to established investment policy guidelines.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 93% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
No current program activity. The filing reports no program spending for the current year.

The verdict

MIXED - 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 few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 0
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 96
  • Sustainability: NotEnoughData
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 23rd 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: Limited
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: Limited
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: Limited

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.2% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 0% of revenue deployed
  • Governance: 26 of 28 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
  • Leadership: top reported pay $979K · 31 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 12 of 12 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2010 to 2020
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.