The Cornerstone Bible College and Seminary
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 562454734
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2017–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Vallejo, CA, United States
- Phone
- (707) 645-1043
- Rating
- 87
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- University or Technological Institute
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $309,977
- Expenses
- $301,853
- Assets
- $73,312
- Liabilities
- $37,156
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Ryan Rippee (President/CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- Ryan Rippee (President/CEO): $60,918 total reported compensation
- Derek Brown (Academic Dean): $28,550 total reported compensation
- Eileen Lucas (Administrator): $20,399 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 Cornerstone Bible College and Seminary exists to serve the church by equipping students to exalt and proclaim Christ. By approaching theological education with a distinctly pastoral aim, we are teaching our students to use Christian doctrine as God intended. Men gripped by the knowledge of God will be men of worship, love, tenderness, and wisdom who know how to use the Scripture and biblical doctrine for the spiritual benefit of Christ’s body. Vision Statement.
What it reported doing in 2024
The largest component of program expenses is related to the payment of one full time staff member and the array of qualified local pastors that comprise the faculty. Pastors serve as adjunct faculty delivering segments of educational training commensurate with the master's degree achieved by each graduating student. Revenues are the sum of tuition paid by those students either on a full time of part time schedule.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 87
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 91
- Sustainability: 27
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 97.4%; rating input score 97
- Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- 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: 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: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 2.6%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.24; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.51; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 41.7%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 13.4% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site
- Where the money goes: 97.4% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $302K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $61K · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 45/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 11/100.