Lyon College offers a liberal arts education of superior quality in a personalized setting. A selective, independent, undergraduate, residential teaching and learning community affiliated with the presbyterian church (USA). Lyon encourages the free intellectual inquiry essential to social, ethical and spiritual growth. With a rich scholarly and religious heritage, Lyon develops, in a culture of honor, responsible citizens and leaders committed to continued personal growth and service.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
85¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$713K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2020 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
1 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $2.3M a year · 5% of revenue · last 6 filings
Concern: a surplus in 1 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
85%
of spending
Looks good: 85% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$713K
to officers and key staff · 2% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 2% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
2 mo
of spending, in cash
Plus $80.0M in investments, Pt X · Ln 11–13
Fine: 1.7 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
7
named funders · $288K
Looks good: 7 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$37.6M
30% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 30% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
14
of 14 voting members
Looks good: 14 of 14 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$86.1M
Spent
$38.7M
To programs
85%
Net assets
$86.0M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$86.1M
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$86.1M
FY2021$34.3M
FY2022$34.0M
FY2023$26.4M
FY2024$34.3M
FY2025$52.5M
Expenses
$38.7M
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$38.7M
FY2021$38.1M
FY2022$37.6M
FY2023$41.9M
FY2024$62.2M
FY2025$62.6M
Net assets
$86.0M
FY2020
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$86.0M
FY2021$92.6M
FY2022$72.4M
FY2023$58.6M
FY2024$24.9M
FY2025$14.7M

From the FY2020 Form 990 (year ending June 2020) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2020 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Apr 1946.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

85 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 85% · $33.0M Management & general 10% · $4.0M Fundraising 4% · $1.7M

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

19 people listed on the 990; $713K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2019); the FY2020 filing did not itemize Part VII
President
$222,194Pt VII · Sec A
$135,806Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President for Finance
$130,262Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President Enrollment
$114,846Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President for Advancement
$109,743Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Burke Soffe’s $431K as Dean of Dental Medicine School is at the 83rd percentile of top reported officer pay among 3683 $10–100M 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

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Burke Soffe$431,321$227,450————
Eleanor Green$409,538—————
William King———$350,277$227,916$222,194
Melissa Taverner$339,073$238,948$228,297$148,320$140,143$135,806
Marshall Butler$207,000—————
Joseph D Botana II—$140,521$155,136$144,838$120,986—
Anthony K Grafton$154,084$127,127$127,127$102,358——
Ashley Mounts$146,893—————

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.

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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

Provides a personalized, high-quality liberal arts education fostering intellectual inquiry and responsible citizenship.

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Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $33.0M · in their own filed words · FY2019
01

Instruction & Other Academic Programs and Academic Support

Undergraduate and non-credit classes are provided.

$16.1Mprogram expense
02

Student Aid and Student Loans

Scholarships, work study programs, and loans are made available to enable students to continue their educations.

$12.4Mprogram expense
03

Student Services & Auxilary Enterprises

Housing, food services, and bookstore activities are provided as a service to those on campus to enhance campus life.

$4.6Mprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
See all 7 funders →
Grants paid · 9 grants · $71.7M · 2019–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$13,483,199
Unitemized GrantFY2023$11,778,948
Unitemized GrantFY2022$9,341,633
Unitemized GrantFY2021$10,458,959
Unitemized GrantFY2021$319,023
Unitemized GrantFY2020$12,881,620
Unitemized GrantFY2020$1,033,731
Unitemized GrantFY2019$12,119,506
Unitemized GrantFY2019$290,735

By the numbers

The FY2020 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$86.1M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$58.0M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$22.0M
Investment incomeLn 3$5.9M
Money outPt IX
$38.7M
Ln 25
Programscol B$33.0M
Managementcol C$4.0M
Fundraisingcol D$1.7M
Owns and owesPt X
$86.0M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$5.4M
Total assetsLn 16$123.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$37.6M
PeoplePt VI, VII
19
listed · VII A
PaidVII A5
Voting boardVI 1a14
IndependentVI 1b14
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$58.0M
Government grantsLn 1e$1.3M
Noncash giftsLn 1g$50.5M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$22.0M
Investment incomeLn 3$5.9M
Other incomeLn 4–11$184K
Gains on assetsLn 7$5.1M
Total revenueLn 12$86.1M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$4.0M
SavingsLn 2$1.4M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$5.4M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$80.0M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$35.1M
Other assetsLn 15$19K
Total assetsLn 16$123.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$37.6M
Net assetsLn 32$86.0M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 5580
VolunteersI 675
Fiscal year endsHeaderJune
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
Records policyVI 14No
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY20End FY20
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$2.6M$5.4M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$43.8M$80.0M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$37.4M$35.1M
Total assetsLn 16$85.8M$123.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$42.8M$37.6M
Net assetsLn 32$43.0M$86.0M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$12.4M$12.4M
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$414K$166K$145K$104K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$9.6M$7.5M$1.0M$1.0M
Other employee benefitsLn 9$2.3M$1.8M$181K$321K
Legal feesLn 11b$126K$126K
Accounting feesLn 11c$84K$84K
Investment management feesLn 11f$153K$153K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$760K$227K$533K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$529K$441K$6K$82K
Office expensesLn 13$946K$590K$260K$96K
OccupancyLn 16$668K$623K$45K
TravelLn 17$690K$602K$42K$47K
InterestLn 20$1.9M$1.5M$444K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$2.0M$1.8M$164K
InsuranceLn 23$399K$382K$17K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$5.8M$5.0M$778K$18K
Total functional expensesLn 25$38.7M$33.0M$4.0M$1.7M

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $52.5M$62.6M−$10.1M$14.7M 990 PDF
FY2024 $34.3M$62.2M−$27.8M$24.9M 990 PDF
FY2023 $26.4M$41.9M−$15.6M$58.6M 990 PDF
FY2022 $34.0M$37.6M−$3.6M$72.4M 990 PDF
FY2021 $34.3M$38.1M−$3.9M$92.6M 990 PDF
FY2020 Viewing $86.1M$38.7M$47.4M$86.0M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support M · Noncash J · Pay O · Explanations
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $86,085,291 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $3,126,515$58,004,342
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $22,187,511$21,967,900
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $3,084,311$5,928,723
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $387,090$184,326
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $28,785,427$86,085,291
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $11,934,455$12,410,241
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $12,005,212$12,274,555
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $15,313,567$14,010,171
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $39,253,234$38,694,967
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$10,467,807$47,390,324
Part VI · Governance 14 of 14 board members independent, 2 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body14
VI-1b Independent voting members14
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyNo
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyNo
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $86,085,291 across 10 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $38,913 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1e Government grants$1,324,650
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$56,679,692
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$50,530,425
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$58,004,342
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $21,967,900$21,967,900
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $808,837$808,837
VIII-6 Net rental income or lossExcluded from tax −$135,135−$135,135
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $5,119,886$5,119,886
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Excluded from tax $280,548$280,548
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $21,967,900 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $6,113,049$86,085,291
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $38,694,967 across 16 lines filed
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $12,410,241$12,410,241
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $165,665 · Management $144,956 · Fundraising $103,540$414,161
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $7,529,250 · Management $1,024,749 · Fundraising $1,013,407$9,567,406
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $1,791,267 · Management $180,819 · Fundraising $320,902$2,292,988
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $126,167$126,167
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $84,060$84,060
IX-11f Investment management feesManagement $152,855$152,855
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $227,110 · Management $532,712$759,822
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $440,823 · Management $6,030 · Fundraising $82,044$528,897
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $590,279 · Management $260,092 · Fundraising $95,574$945,945
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $622,607 · Management $45,129$667,736
IX-17 TravelPrograms $601,522 · Management $41,558 · Fundraising $46,936$690,016
IX-20 InterestPrograms $1,455,183 · Management $443,571$1,898,754
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $1,809,461 · Management $163,613$1,973,074
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $382,143 · Management $16,769$398,912
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $4,987,529 · Management $778,229 · Fundraising $18,175$5,783,933
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $33,013,080 · Management $4,001,309 · Fundraising $1,680,578$38,694,967
Part X · Balance sheet $123,601,138 assets, 20 lines filed
Asset lines not itemized here account for $400,573; see the IRS return.
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $1,960,606$4,019,794
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $653,723$1,357,975
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $939,975$720,089
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $409,037$1,089,441
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $117,561$149,940
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $141,226$776,288
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $37,405,345$35,090,771
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $36,113,511$72,059,271
X-12 Other securitiesStart of year $7,663,200$7,918,364
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $568$18,632
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $85,834,856$123,601,138
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $2,129,644$2,156,046
X-20 Tax-exempt bond liabilitiesStart of year $21,958,567$16,594,253
X-24 Unsecured notes and loans payableStart of year $0$2,386,220
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $2,105,533$2,471,393
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $42,829,687$37,610,844
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year −$22,737,658$20,646,222
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $65,742,827$65,344,072
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $43,005,169$85,990,294
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $85,834,856$123,601,138
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $85,990,294 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$86,085,291
XI-2 Total expenses$38,694,967
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$47,390,324
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$43,005,169
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments−$4,303,044
XI-9 Other changes in net assets−$102,155
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$85,990,294

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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