The Founder's Trap
The Founder's Trap
Market
Archetype
Mechanical
Natural
Tier
Developing
Trajectory Thumbprint
The Founder's Trap
What does this mean?
10-year flat revenue, below-market executive comp, and a small board. The organization survives purely on the sweat equity of a founder, making it utterly un-transferable.
The Path Forward
The Dispersal
Forces succession planning and structural maturity. It requires raising capacity-building funds to decouple the organization's survival from the founder's personal sacrifice.
The Dispersal
Institutional Health Scores
5-yr trend: The Founder's Trap ↑
Overall
55
Score
Governance
58
Score
Financial
50
Score
Program
60
Score
Title
-
Institutions
-
Avg Revenue
-
Risk Profile
Representative Institutions
Institutional Epochs
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
Financial Era
Governance Era
Trajectory Era
Founders Trap
Historical Performance
| Year | Revenue | Top Comp | Comp % Rev | Score | Phase Label | Outlook | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | — | — | 1.8% | 55 | Fragile | Stable Watch | |
| 2022 | — | — | 1.6% | 55 | Fragile | Recovery | |
| 2021 | — | — | 5.1% | 46 | Financially Distressed | Decline Risk | |
| 2020 | — | — | 4.2% | 49 | Financially Distressed | Decline Risk | |
| 2019 | — | — | 4.2% | 51 | Fragile | Decline Risk | |
| 2018 | — | — | 1.7% | 51 | Fragile | Decline Risk | |
| 2017 | — | — | 1.2% | 55 | Fragile | Recovery | |
| 2016 | — | — | 1.2% | 53 | Fragile | Decline Risk | |
| 2015 | — | — | 1.6% | 55 | Fragile | Recovery | |
| 2014 | — | — | 2.6% | 51 | Fragile | Decline Risk | |
| 2013 | — | — | 2.4% | 55 | Fragile | Stable Watch | |
| 2012 | — | — | 2.5% | 55 | Fragile | Recovery | |
| 2011 | — | — | 3.1% | 51 | Fragile | Stable Watch |
Officer compensation history
Tax year 2023
| Name | Title | Phone | Compensation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KALYN ANDREA | Board President | 0.6% of Rev | ||
| KELLY KATHLEEN SENIOR VP | FOR STRATEGY & INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT | 0.4% of Rev | ||
| NOVAK THOMAS | Vice President | 0.3% of Rev | ||
| WEILERSTEIN DONALD | COLLEGE FACULTY | 0.2% of Rev | ||
| EAGLEN LYSON JANE | COLLEGE FACULTY | 0.2% of Rev | ||
| WOODS HEATHER | CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER | 0.2% of Rev | ||
| MARTIN KRISTINA | Treasurer | 0.2% of Rev | ||
| KATZ PAUL | COLLEGE FACULTY | 0.2% of Rev | ||
| KIM SOOVIN | COLLEGE FACULTY | 0.2% of Rev | ||
| LESSER LAURENCE | COLLEGE FACULTY | 0.2% of Rev | ||
| SARRA MICHAEL | Vice President | 0.2% of Rev | ||
| ATHANASIOU NIKOLAOS | Board Member | — | ||
| BAILEY ALLISON | Board Member | — | ||
| BARTLETT ANNE A | Board Member | — | ||
| BEAL ENID L | Board Member | — | ||
| BECTON HENRY | Board Member | — | ||
| BURNES KENNETT F | Board Member | — | ||
| CHEN MEI-ANN | Board Member | — | ||
| ELFERS DEBORAH B | Board Member | — | ||
| FULHAM TIMOTHY W | Board Member | — | ||
| GRAVES JR EDWIN D | Board Member | — | ||
| GRAY ERIC A | Board Member | — | ||
| NICHOLS MARGARET | Board Member | — | ||
| PREVOST PATRICK M | Board Member | — | ||
| RUBIN SALLY L | Board Member | — | ||
| SMITH CHAD | Board Member | — | ||
| THONIS MICHAEL | Board Member | — | ||
| WILKINS THOMAS | Board Member | — | ||
| WILMERDING FRANCES B | Board Member | — | ||
| BLUMENTHAL THOMAS W | Board President | — | ||
| GLAUBER BARBARA W | Board President | — | ||
| HENDRIX BLAIR E | Treasurer | — | ||
| LODER JOHN M | Secretary | — |
Tax year 2022
| Name | Title | Phone | Compensation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KALYN ANDREA | Board President | 0.6% of Rev | ||
| KELLY KATHLEEN SENIOR VP FOR | STRATEGY & INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT | 0.4% of Rev | ||
| DIONNE ELIZABETH VP FINANCE | Treasurer | 0.3% of Rev | ||
| NOVAK THOMAS | Vice President | 0.3% of Rev | ||
| WEILERSTEIN DONALD | COLLEGE FACULTY | 0.2% of Rev | ||
| RAINER KAIRYN | Vice President | 0.2% of Rev | ||
| EAGLEN LYSON JANE | COLLEGE FACULTY | 0.2% of Rev | ||
| SARRA MICHAEL | Vice President | 0.2% of Rev | ||
| LESSER LAURENCE | COLLEGE FACULTY | 0.2% of Rev | ||
| KATZ PAUL | COLLEGE FACULTY | 0.2% of Rev | ||
| SOOVIN KIM | COLLEGE FACULTY | 0.2% of Rev | ||
| MARTIN KRISTINA ASSOCIATE VP | Treasurer | 0.2% of Rev | ||
| ATHANASIOU NIKOLAOS | Board Member | — | ||
| BAILEY ALLISON | Board Member | — | ||
| BAJAKIAN CLINTON J | Board Member | — | ||
| BARTLETT ANNE A | Board Member | — | ||
| BEAL ENID L | Board Member | — | ||
| ELFERS DEBORAH B | Board Member | — | ||
| FULHAM TIMOTHY W | Board Member | — | ||
| GLAUBER BARBARA W | Board Member | — | ||
| GRAVES JR EDWIN D | Board Member | — | ||
| GRAY ERIC A | Board Member | — | ||
| HENDRIX BLAIR E | Board Member | — | ||
| JONI SAJ-NICOLE A | Board Member | — | ||
| NICHOLS MARGARET | Board Member | — | ||
| PREVOST PATRICK M | Board Member | — | ||
| RUBIN SALLY L | Board Member | — | ||
| SMITH CHAD | Board Member | — | ||
| THONIS MICHAEL | Board Member | — | ||
| WILKINS THOMAS | Board Member | — | ||
| WILMERDING FRANCES B | Board Member | — | ||
| BLUMENTHAL THOMAS W | Board President | — | ||
| BURNES KENNETT F | Board President | — | ||
| LODER JOHN M | Secretary | — |
Tax year 2021
| Name | Title | Phone | Compensation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KALYN ANDREA | Board President | 0.8% of Rev | ||
| KELLY KATHLEEN VP FOR ADVANCEMENT | ENGAGEMENT, & PARTNERSHIPS | 0.4% of Rev | ||
| NOVAK THOMAS | Vice President | 0.3% of Rev | ||
| WEILERSTEIN DONALD | COLLEGE FACULTY | 0.3% of Rev | ||
| DIONNE ELIZABETH VP FINANCE | Treasurer | 0.2% of Rev | ||
| RAINER KAIRYN | Vice President | 0.2% of Rev | ||
| EAGLEN LYSON JANE | COLLEGE FACULTY | 0.2% of Rev | ||
| LESSER LAURENCE | COLLEGE FACULTY | 0.2% of Rev | ||
| SOOVIN KIM | COLLEGE FACULTY | 0.2% of Rev | ||
| MARTIN KRISTINA | Treasurer | 0.2% of Rev | ||
| ATHANASIOU NIKOLAOS | Board Member | — | ||
| BAJAKIAN CLINTON J | Board Member | — | ||
| BARTLETT ANNE A | Board Member | — | ||
| BEAL ENID L | Board Member | — | ||
| ELFERS DEBORAH B | Board Member | — | ||
| FERGUSON CORINNE | Board Member | — | ||
| FULHAM TIMOTHY W | Board Member | — | ||
| GLAUBER BARBARA W | Board Member | — | ||
| GRAVES JR EDWIN D | Board Member | — | ||
| GRAY ERIC A | Board Member | — | ||
| HENDRIX BLAIR E | Board Member | — | ||
| JONI SAJ-NICOLE A | Board Member | — | ||
| NICHOLS MARGARET | Board Member | — | ||
| PREVOST PATRICK M | Board Member | — | ||
| RUBIN SALLY L | Board Member | — | ||
| SMITH CHAD | Board Member | — | ||
| THONIS MICHAEL | Board Member | — | ||
| WILMERDING FRANCES B | Board Member | — | ||
| BLUMENTHAL THOMAS W BOARD | Board President | — | ||
| BURNES KENNETT F | Board President | — | ||
| LODER JOHN M | Secretary | — |
Officer contact details, exact compensation figures, and active litigation are available to verified members.
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Score breakdown
Score breakdown
Financial resilience
50 / 100
weight 40%
Governance risk
58 / 100
weight 40%
Program scale
60 / 100
weight 20%
Overall
55 / 100
Developing
The three components combine into a single 0–100 score weighted as shown. Full methodology →
Peer comparison
Fewer than 3 peers found in MA for this NTEE subcategory; peer comparison would not be statistically meaningful.
5-year trend: The Founder's Trap
10-year flat revenue, below-market executive comp, and a small board. The organization survives purely on the sweat equity of a founder, making it utterly un-transferable.
Overall score has gone from 51 → 55 over 5 years (improving by 4 points).
What's driving this score
- Comp-to-revenue ratio of 1.8% sits within the sector's healthy band (18–22%).
What would change this score
No specific high-impact levers identified — this org's score is balanced across components.
Improving governance is a board decision. These are the levers.