Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Feb 1934.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
87 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
43 people listed on the 990; $2.2M paid to officers and key staff (Part VII, Section A).
Jill Baren’s $710K as President (until 12/10/24) is at the 61st percentile of top reported officer pay among 674 $100M+ education nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jill Baren | $709,690 | $546,029 | $243,855 | — | — | — |
| Stephen D Schutt | — | $230,413 | $413,403 | $433,036 | $474,234 | $448,691 |
| Shawn Vogen | — | $297,655 | $227,458 | — | — | — |
| Lori Sundberg | $281,169 | $268,939 | $212,887 | $201,492 | $198,567 | $191,221 |
| Katie Sue Spieth | $240,525 | $122,768 | — | — | — | — |
| Christopher Ellertson | $239,646 | $231,552 | $222,629 | $215,324 | $213,529 | $210,939 |
| Philip Hood | — | — | — | — | $117,325 | $211,125 |
| Davis Schneiderman | — | $198,641 | $209,942 | $191,261 | $190,231 | $182,521 |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
See Lake Forest College executive salaries →Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Educates students in a residential liberal arts setting.
Questions for Lake Forest College
Your first name shows with your question. Lake Forest College answers here, for everyone.
Academic programs served 1,541 full time equivalent students in a primarily liberal arts undergraduate program. Bachelor of Arts degrees conferred was 349 during the year, with 12 Master's degrees conferred. Program costs include academic departments and the faculty salaries and benefits.
Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2019. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 36-2167770) · Dispute this lineStudent Services includes athletics, counseling, admissions, financial aid services, health services, intercultural programming and career development for all students. Residential Life programming is provided for students living on campus.
Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2019. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 36-2167770) · Dispute this lineAuxiliary services are primarily the cost of providing housing to the students. Approximately 82% of the undergraduate students lived on campus. Students come from nearly every state, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands and 80 countries.
Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2019. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 36-2167770) · Dispute this lineFunders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
Federal money
Plus 4 smaller programs.
The auditor reported 13 findings: a material weakness in money controls, questioned costs.
Plus 2 smaller programs.
The auditor reported 10 findings: a weakness in money controls.
Plus 2 smaller programs.
The auditor reported 1 finding.
Plus 4 smaller programs.
The auditor reported no findings.
By the numbers
The FY2020 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | FY20 | FY19 | FY18 | FY17 | FY16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of yearLn 1g | $84.2M | $87.5M | $90.6M | $87.8M | $83.9M |
| AddedLn 1b | $1.6M | $852K | $564K | $1.1M | $1.5M |
| SpentLn 1d–1f | $4.9M | $6.3M | $4.8M | $4.9M | $4.9M |
| Line | Start FY20 | End FY20 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $3.3M | $3.8M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $84.9M | $81.6M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $114.1M | $111.2M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $227.1M | $217.7M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $56.2M | $48.0M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $170.9M | $169.7M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $48.5M | $48.5M | ||
| Pay of officers and key staff (Part IX, line 5)Ln 5 | $1.9M | $904K | $734K | $239K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $23.0M | $19.4M | $2.7M | $829K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $1.4M | $1.1M | $275K | $51K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $3.0M | $2.5M | $353K | $147K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $1.6M | $1.2M | $312K | $62K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $69K | $7K | $62K | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $89K | $89K | ||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $623K | $623K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $7.9M | $7.6M | $259K | $64K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $234K | $227K | $2K | $4K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $2.4M | $2.0M | $257K | $166K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $689K | $300K | $305K | $84K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $4.0M | $2.6M | $1.4M | $5K |
| TravelLn 17 | $716K | $643K | $13K | $60K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $549K | $397K | $32K | $120K |
| InterestLn 20 | $1.7M | $1.7M | $11K | |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $5.6M | $5.4M | $170K | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $488K | $126K | $357K | $4K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $6.6M | $2.1M | $4.5M | $4K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $111.1M | $96.7M | $12.5M | $1.8M |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 LatestFiled with the IRS Apr 15, 2026 | $165.1M | $155.5M | $9.6M | $231.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS Apr 14, 2025 | $141.5M | $144.5M | −$3.0M | $211.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Apr 12, 2024 | $140.5M | $133.9M | $6.6M | $202.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $127.6M | $123.5M | $4.1M | $194.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Apr 15, 2022 | $111.5M | $109.1M | $2.4M | $194.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 ViewingFiled with the IRS Apr 12, 2021 | $110.4M | $111.1M | −$682K | $169.7M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990
Part I · Summary $110,394,405 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 31 of 32 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $110,394,405 across 10 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $111,076,177 across 21 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $217,688,817 assets, 27 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $169,731,675 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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