College of Charleston Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237069236
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Charleston, SC, USA
Phone
8439533130
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Reported finances

Revenue
$23,221,545
Expenses
$21,163,314
Assets
$222,628,887
Liabilities
$3,266,623

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

Leadership & pay

43 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Dan Frezza (Chief Advancement Officer , CEO Foundation)
  • Andrew Hsu (President, CofC)

Highest reported compensation

  • Chris Mack (Basketball Coach): $824,833 total reported compensation
  • Andrew Hsu (President, CofC): $761,391 total reported compensation
  • Suzanne Austin (Provost, CofC): $378,180 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 Mission of the College of Charleston Foundation is to promote programs of education, research, student development, and faculty development for the exclusive benefit of the College of Charleston.

What it reported doing in 2024

See schedule o for a complete description of our accomplishments

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 94% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 51% for direct work, and 49% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 56
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 74
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 58.6%; rating input score 59
  • Program expense ratio: 64.1%; rating input score 64
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.61 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th 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: 8.9%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 10.52; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.3%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.2% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 58.6% of revenue deployed · 64.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 41 of 41 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $13.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $825K · 43 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.2M reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 38 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 59/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 49/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.