The Catholic University of America Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521284733
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2023195606
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Affiliation
Christianity

Reported finances

Revenue
$65,399
Expenses
$73,281
Assets
$1,481,978
Liabilities
$6,886

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PETER KILPATRICK (EX-OFFICIO DIRECTOR/PRESIDENT)
  • JOHN H GARVEY (FORMER PRESIDENT; CUA PROFESSOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • PETER KILPATRICK (EX-OFFICIO DIRECTOR/PRESIDENT): $681,341 total reported compensation
  • DAVID AARON DOMINGUEZ (EX-OFFICIO DIRECTOR/PROVOST): $525,623 total reported compensation
  • ROBERT M SPECTER THRU 102024 (EX-OFFICIO DIRECTOR/TREASURER): $524,367 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 primary exempt purpose of the foundation is to operate exclusively to support the catholic university of america. The catholic university of america is organized and is operated exclusively for religious, charitable, (continued on schedule o)scientific, literary and educational purposes within the meaning of the provisions of sections 170(c) (2)(b) and 501 (c)(3) of the internal revenue code.

What it reported doing in 2024

Higher education: supports the catholic university of america, which offers programs of study leading to bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees in the liberal arts and sciences, religious studies and in several professional areas including engineering, architecture, social service, nursing, music and law. (instruction and departmental research)

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 32
  • Sustainability: 48
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 95.1%; rating input score 95
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -12.1%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 20.22; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 334.8%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.4% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 95.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 4 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $70K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $681K · 6 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 2 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 44/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 31/100.