Wellesley College

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
042103637
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Wellesley, MA, USA
Phone
7812831000
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$486,737,193
Expenses
$374,318,026
Assets
$4,206,499,425
Liabilities
$583,313,487

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

Leadership & pay

50 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Paula A Johnson (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Deborah F Kuenstner (Chief Investment Officer): $1,863,837 total reported compensation
  • Paula A Johnson (President): $1,364,215 total reported compensation
  • Rose C Carpenter (Deputy CIO): $1,200,520 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To provide an excellent liberal arts education for women who will make a difference in the world.

What it reported doing in 2024

Wellelsey college has a long tradition of need-blind admission for u.s. Citizens and permanent residents, making admission decisions without regard to a family's financial situation. Through its financial aid program, the college meets 100 percent of a student's demonstrated financial need. Resources dedicated to the financial aid program ensure that wellesley is successful in recruiting and enrolling a strong and diverse student body with continued attention to issues of funding and affordability. Approximately 60% of the student body receives financial aid.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 62% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 73% for direct work, and 27% 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 83
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.3%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 77.2%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.38 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • 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: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 97.1%; rating input score 97; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 23.1%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 11.24; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.9%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.6% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.3% of revenue deployed · 77.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 33 of 34 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $288.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.9M · 50 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $103.1M reported
  • Consistency: 46 of 46 current checks pass
  • 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: 18 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 43/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.