George Mason University Foundation
Legal name: George Mason University Foundation Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 541603842
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Fairfax, VA, US
- Phone
- 703-993-8850
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Single Organization Support
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $116,356,966
- Expenses
- $89,930,121
- Assets
- $554,268,261
- Liabilities
- $85,619,685
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
43 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ELIZABETH CANTRELL (VICE PRESIDENT & CFO)
- TRISHANA E BOWDEN (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- ELIZABETH CANTRELL (VICE PRESIDENT & CFO): $333,621 total reported compensation
- CARRIE J ROSE (CONTROLLER): $247,008 total reported compensation
- ELIZABETH KREIN (ASSISTANT CONTROLLER): $206,631 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 George Mason University Foundation supports George Mason University's initiatives by carefully managing private gifts, providing financial stewardship, and fostering donor commitment to advance education, research, and student success.
What it reported doing in 2024
The foundation's major program activity is to disburse designated funds in support of scholarships, fellowships, awards, and general operating expenses of the university's academic and other departments.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 90% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 74% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and some filed totals do not add up.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 85
- Transparency & Controls: 73
- Accountability: 96
- Sustainability: 84
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 78.5%; rating input score 79
- Program expense ratio: 93.6%; rating input score 94
- Fundraising efficiency: $141.52 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 95%; rating input score 95; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Fail
- Conducts field audits: Fail
- May suspend future funding: Fail
- Requires financial reports: Fail
- Conducts site visits: Fail
- Requires grant agreements: Fail
- May require repayment: Fail
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 94.3%; rating input score 94; 46th 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: 22.7%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.16; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1.4%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7.4% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 78.5% of revenue deployed · 93.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 33 of 35 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $84.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $334K · 43 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.8M reported
- Consistency: 45 of 46 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 16 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 15 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: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.