Fossum Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
456013302
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Fargo, ND, USA
Phone
7012316800
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$94,955
Expenses
$99,238
Assets
$581,333
Liabilities
$9,390

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • John Shotwell (President)
  • Clyde Fossum (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Allyson Peterson (Assistant Secretary/Treasurer): $260,558 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To assist in carrying out the purpose of the North Dakota State University Foundation, a nonprofit corporation, organized and existing for the support of North Dakota State University.

What it reported doing in 2024

Grants to North Dakota State University Foundation (1241 University Dr N, Fargo, ND 58102-2524), the supported organization, for use in carrying out its exempt purpose of supporting North Dakota State University. $20,000 was contributed to the Fossum Foundation endowment fund held by the NDSU Foundation, which has a restricted purpose of using the annual distribution of income, as set by the Investment Committee of the NDSU Foundation, for merit scholarships at North Dakota State University.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 91% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 68
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 97.7%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -4.5%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.86; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 48.6%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.3% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.4% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 97.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $97K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $261K · 8 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 42 of 42 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 50/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.