California State University Bakersfield Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 952643086
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Bakersfield, CA, USA
- Phone
- 6616543579
- Rating
- 75
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Single Organization Support
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $6,468,345
- Expenses
- $6,195,916
- Assets
- $65,379,604
- Liabilities
- $1,258,661
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
26 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DR VERNON B HARPER JR (UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT)
- HEATH NIEMEYER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
- ERIN PRUITT (ASI PRESIDENT)
- AMANDA RUIZ (PRESIDENT FOR ALUMNI ASSOCIATION)
Highest reported compensation
- DR VERNON B HARPER JR (UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT): $609,296 total reported compensation
- THOM DAVIS (TREASURER / TERM 1.28.25): $393,131 total reported compensation
- DR KRISTEN WATSON (TREASURER): $322,880 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The foundation supports California state university, bakersfield by advocating on behalf of the university, fundraising for university programs and activities, and managing the finances of the foundation and the university endowment.
What it reported doing in 2024
California state university, bakersfield foundation provides essential services to the students, faculty and staff of California state university bakersfield that cannot be provided through state procedures. These services include scholarships and program support of the university. There are approximately 10,000 students.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 64% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 56% for direct work, and 44% for grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 81
- Transparency & Controls: 60
- Accountability: 82
- Sustainability: 64
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 91.3%; rating input score 91
- Program expense ratio: 80.4%; rating input score 80
- Fundraising efficiency: $9.61 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Missing
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 76.9%; rating input score 77; 13th 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: 4.2%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 10.55; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.8%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 91.3% of revenue deployed · 80.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 20 of 26 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $609K · 26 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
- Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 7 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: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 36/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 48/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 42/100.