The President and Trustees of Colby College

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
010211497
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Waterville, ME, USA
Phone
2078594774
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$354,489,000
Expenses
$325,244,000
Assets
$2,544,594,000
Liabilities
$469,518,000

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

Leadership & pay

56 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • David A Greene (President)
  • Julie Wood (Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer)
  • Nicole Trufant (Vice President for Administration and Chief Financial Officer)
  • Randi Maloney (Vice President and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid)
  • Ruth Jackson (Vice President and Chief of Staff)
  • Alison Beyea (Executive Director of the Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs)

Highest reported compensation

  • David A Greene (President): $3,203,132 total reported compensation
  • Deborah Shufrin (Associate VP and Chief Investment Officer): $921,135 total reported compensation
  • Matthew Proto (Senior VP and Chief Institutional Advancement Officer): $534,034 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

See schedule o.

What it reported doing in 2024

Post secondary education: Instruction of 2,407 undergraduate students in 2024/25. In the 2024/25 year, 619 students graduated, and an estimated 364 students studied away. 88% completed the degree within five years; the student/faculty ratio is 10:1.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 72% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 72% for direct work, and 28% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 71
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.6%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 80.3%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.19 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Limited
    • Conducts field audits: Limited
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Limited
    • Conducts site visits: Limited
    • Requires grant agreements: Limited
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 71.8%; rating input score 72; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 97.2%; rating input score 97; 53rd 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: 8.2%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.82; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.9%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.6% of revenue deployed · 80.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 35 of 36 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $261.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $3.2M · 56 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $34.2M reported
  • Consistency: 49 of 51 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 13 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: 32 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 16 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 27/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.