Clemson University Land Stewardship Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
274127041
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2019
Forms available
Form 990 2019, Form 990-N 2010
Location
Clemson, SC, USA
Phone
8646561289
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,314,262
Expenses
$2,467,957
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2019. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • HARRISON F TRAMMELL (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • HARRISON F TRAMMELL (PRESIDENT & CEO): $311,738 total reported compensation
  • DEBORAH C NEWSOM (TREASURER): $186,566 total reported compensation
  • LAURA H STONER (FORMER TREASURER): $182,773 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2019. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The purpose of the clemson university land stewardship foundation is to receive, hold, lease, mortgage, develop, administer, and manage real property and related assets for the benefit of clemson university.

What it reported doing in 2019

Real estate management and development - development and management of real estate including academic and industrial space focused on automotive design and engineering. This combined academic and economic development effort is in direct support of the mission of clemson university.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 95% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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

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 revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 46
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 65.5%; rating input score 66
  • Program expense ratio: 88.7%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 25.5%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -10.4% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -5.7% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 65.5% of revenue deployed · 88.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $312K · 13 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $452K reported
  • Consistency: 18 of 18 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2012 to 2019
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 50/100.