California State University, Fresno Foundation

Legal name: California State University Fresno Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
946003272
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2012
Location
Fresno, CA, US
Phone
559.278.4240
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$135,182,323
Expenses
$115,434,278
Assets
$412,738,646
Liabilities
$46,687,355

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

36 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • DR JIMENEZ-SANDOVAL (Secretary): $608,810 total reported compensation
  • DEBBIE ASTONE THRU 123124 (Executive Dir.): $476,556 total reported compensation
  • KARRI HAMMERSTROM (PROJECT DIRECTOR): $212,752 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 Fresno State Foundation supports the university by managing private gifts and endowments to enhance educational opportunities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Student support at csuf, including scholarships and loans to students at csuf. Approximately 24,310 students; 14 loans and 632 scholarships.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 89% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - 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.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 80
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.5%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 83.5%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $272.1 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th 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: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 96.3%; rating input score 96; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 14.6%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.58; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 74.5% of revenue deployed · 83.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 26 of 27 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $96.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $609K · 36 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $440K reported
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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.