Gerald R Ford Presidential Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
382368003
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Grand Rapids, MI, USA
Phone
6162540397
Rating
63
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,526,081
Expenses
$2,743,947
Assets
$56,596,435
Liabilities
$230,917

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

Leadership & pay

42 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GLEAVES WHITNEY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • GLEAVES WHITNEY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $309,256 total reported compensation
  • JEFFREY J POLET (DIRECTOR FOR LEADERSHIP FORUM): $198,927 total reported compensation
  • DONALD J COOPER II (DIRECTOR OF CIVIC INITIATIVES): $196,968 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 gerald r. Ford presidential foundation fosters increased awareness of the life, career, values, and legacy of america's 38th president. It does so through activities designed to promote the high ideals of integrity, honesty, and candor that defined president ford's extraordinary career of public service. The foundation promotes the ideals, values, commitment to public service, and historical legacy of president gerald r. Ford and further promotes greater civic engagement and recognition of integrity wherever it exists in the public arena. It supports permanent and changing exhibits designed to promote historical literacy; conferences; educational outreach and other programs, both scholarly and popular, at the gerald r. Ford presidential library and museum.

What it reported doing in 2024

The foundation supports research and education through programs including journalism prizes, research grants, and internships. Journalism prizes recognize reportorial excellence and the fostering of better public understanding of the presidency and national defense. Two $5,000 prizes were awarded in 2024. Research grants support research in the holdings of the ford presidential library. Fifteen grants totaling $21,400.00 were awarded in 2024. Museum internships offer college students practical experience during 240 hours of work at the ford presidential museum and include a $1,000 stipend upon completion. Three internships were granted in 2024 totaling $3,000.00. The foundation continues its civic initiative programs including, devos learning center and the ford leadership forum.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 88% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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 - 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 a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 34
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 84
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 22.9%; rating input score 23
  • Program expense ratio: 36.6%; rating input score 37
  • Fundraising efficiency: $68.18 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • 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: Limited
  • 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: 67.8%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 20.63; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 31.3%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -11.8% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.5% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 22.9% of revenue deployed · 36.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 38 of 38 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $309K · 42 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $126K reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 23/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 37/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 5/100.