Institute for the Study of Western Civilization

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
020672159
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Cupertino, CA, USA
Phone
4088644060
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Undergraduate College (4-year)

Reported finances

Revenue
$598,044
Expenses
$648,263
Assets
$415,805
Liabilities
$37,248

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • William H Fredlund (Pres/Exec Dir): $110,000 total reported compensation
  • Grace Fagaldi (CFO): $33,832 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To promote the teaching of the Western Tradition, its relationship to other traditions and its importance in the modern era, through educational courses, resources and teacher training.

What it reported doing in 2025

Educational Programs: The Institutes mission is to promote the teaching of the Western Tradition and the preservation of the cultural heritage. Classes, lectures, and resource material on history, art, literature, foreign languages and music provide opportunities for lifelong learning and for teacher training. Discussions of the achievements and problems of Western Culture occur in courses such as: The History of the USA, England and Renaissance. Other lecture topics included the plays of Shakespeare, anthropology and archaeology, musical composers and virtuosi, and 20th century warfare. Examples of the syllabi for these and other classes are available on the Institute's website: www.westernciv.com. The number of students enrolled at the Institute in classes (in-person or by streaming) was approximately 700. The amount of students enrolled in lectures was approximatley 1700.Library: The Kate Curry Library at the Institute includes over 3,000 volumes. It provides students and local educators with resource materials related to current class offerings, the history of the development of civilization, art, literature, language and music. Volunteers work in acquisitions, book processing, online cataloging, circulation, special collections, patron assistance and general library maintenance. New acquisitions are funded by monetary gifts and program revenue. Book donations are accepted. Library policies and a searchable catalog of books are available at the Institute's website: www.westernciv.com.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 67% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 89% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 83
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.5%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 81.7%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $148.38 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -8.4%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.64; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.2%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.5% of revenue deployed · 81.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $529K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $110K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 15/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 36/100.