Washington · Nonprofit
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (Washington) receives grants from 2 organizations whose IRS filings report $5,496,639 to it, the largest being GATES FOUNDATION ($5,450,579). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $6.1M
- Funders on record
- 2
- Grants received
- $5.5M
- Net assets
- $12M
What Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities does
Mission
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities accredits institutions of higher education by applying evidence-informed standards and processes to support continuous improvements and promote equitable student achievement and success.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities is recognized by the u.s. Department of education as the authority on educational quality and effectiveness of higher education institutions. In the past fiscal year, over 158 institutions were served.
$3,943,425 spent$5,032,601 earned by the program95% of program spendingThe Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities supports member institutions through professional development and collaborative engagement in support of continuous improvement, through an annual conference with approximately 500 attendees.
$222,492 spent$315,785 earned by the program5% of program spending
The 2 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $4,165,917.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2020 to 2021, from $9.6M to $12M (+21%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2021 4%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
13% of Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (48% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Who funds it, year by year
2019 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 2 funders, grant income rose $20k → $1.0M.
From the IRS filings of Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities leans on a few funders — its largest provides 99% of grant income and the top three 100%; half comes from just 1 funder.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 1 funder to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2019 100% · 2020 100% · 2021 100% · 2022 100% · 2023 95% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Where its funders are
99% of Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities's grant income comes from Washington funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 11,752 education nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 11,752 education nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Organizations like Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Washington
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
83% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
78%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities?
- Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (Washington) receives grants from 2 organizations whose IRS filings report $5,496,639 to it, the largest being GATES FOUNDATION ($5,450,579). 1 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities have?
- IRS filings report 2 organizations giving $5,496,639 in grants to Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, 1 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities?
- GATES FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $5,450,579 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Washington. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 2 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing