The Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
362582852
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Springfield, IL, USA
Phone
2177891400
Rating confidence
Limited

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,078,104
Expenses
$1,173,885
Assets
$1,071,119
Liabilities
$162,918

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

Leadership & pay

58 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAVID TRETTER (PRESIDENT)
  • JOAN KNOX (VICE PRESIDENT OF GOVERNMENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID TRETTER (PRESIDENT): $494,563 total reported compensation
  • JOAN KNOX (VICE PRESIDENT OF GOVERNMENT): $214,941 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 federation of independent Illinois colleges and universities is the oldest private college association in the nation. The federation is an advocacy organization that represents the public policy interests of Illinois' non-profit private colleges and universities with a membership of 60 institutions from all regions of the state. The federation is a unified voice on behalf of the independent sector of higher education in Illinois.

What it reported doing in 2024

To seek and to secure such legislation as may be necessary to protect the rights and privileges guaranteed the member institutions, by their charters and the constitution of the state of Illinois and to ensure independent institutions of higher learning in Illinois be given appropriate recognition by state and federal agencies and programs charged with the responsibility of improving higher education.

Operating model

Revenue model
Membership-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from membership dues.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
  • Transparency & Controls: 77
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 25
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: Limited
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -8.9%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.91; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 60.4%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: -1.2% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Governance: 56 of 56 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
  • Leadership: top reported pay $495K · 58 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 10 of 10 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 36/100.