Iowa State University Alumni Association
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 426062614
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Ames, IA, USA
- Phone
- 5152945085
- Rating
- 77
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Alumni Associations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,581,163
- Expenses
- $5,299,594
- Assets
- $21,257,737
- Liabilities
- $4,051,947
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
32 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JEFFERY W JOHNSON (CEO - END JUNE 2025)
- SHANNON FOOTE (ACTING CEO - START JUNE 2025)
- KURT TJADEN (ACTING CEO - MARCH - JUNE 2025)
Highest reported compensation
- JEFFERY W JOHNSON (CEO - END JUNE 2025): $340,052 total reported compensation
- SHANNON FOOTE (ACTING CEO - START JUNE 2025): $141,456 total reported compensation
- AMY CRABBS (VP OF FINANCE - END AUGUST 2024): $82,691 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 facilitate the lifetime connection of alumni, students, and friends with Iowa state university and each other.
What it reported doing in 2024
Constituent engagement: hosts a variety of events, programs, and services for students, alumni, and friends, locally and across the nation to promote engagement in the life of the university. Events include, but are not limited to, athletic-related events, alumni clubs, young alumni programs, reunions, awards, volunteer program, alumni receptions and student events. Osher lifelong learning institute provides a learning experience for those 50 and over. The student program's leadership group, salc, is broken into five committees: cyclone alley, ambassadors, senior class council, homecoming and exec. Between all committees, the entire student body is reached many times during the school year.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 80
- Transparency & Controls: 79
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 33
- Growth: 20
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 68.8%; rating input score 69
- Fundraising efficiency: $3.1 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- 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: -48%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.01; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 10.6%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -0.2% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -1% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 68.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 26 of 26 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $3.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $340K · 32 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 11 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 9/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
- 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 28/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 45/100.