The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 020344073
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Merrimack, NH, USA
- Phone
- 6038808308
- Rating
- 74
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Undergraduate College (4-year)
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $7,978,623
- Expenses
- $6,446,131
- Assets
- $7,966,426
- Liabilities
- $329,539
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
21 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Dr William E Fahey (President)
- Paul T Jackson (Executive Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- Dr William E Fahey (President): $228,890 total reported compensation
- Pamela Bernstein (Director of Business): $138,042 total reported compensation
- Walter J Thompson (Senior Fellow): $128,303 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 Thomas More College of Liberal Arts was founded to provide a solid education in the liberal arts, a Catholic education for students of all faiths, united in the quest for what is true, good, and beautiful. It pursues this mission by seeking wisdom and sharing it joyfully with the world.
What it reported doing in 2024
A Catholic not-for-profit college offering an undergraduate liberal arts degree. The College has one location in Merrimack, NH which consists of 5 buildings and sits on approximately 14 acres. It is fully accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 65% for direct work, and 35% for grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 73
- Transparency & Controls: 67
- Accountability: 86
- Sustainability: 60
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 70.1%; rating input score 70
- Program expense ratio: 84.9%; rating input score 85
- Fundraising efficiency: $14.46 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- 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: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- 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: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 19.2%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.24; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 13.2%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 70.1% of revenue deployed · 84.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 14 of 15 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5.5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $229K · 21 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $313K reported
- Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 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.
- 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.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 50/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 44/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.