Kansas State University Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
480667209
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Manhattan, KS, US
Phone
785-775-2000
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$233,578,614
Expenses
$175,943,767
Assets
$1,517,758,764
Liabilities
$102,237,467

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

Leadership & pay

29 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GREG WILLEMS (PRESIDENT/CEO)
  • SUSAN BERHOW (Vice President of Marketing Communications)

Highest reported compensation

  • GREG WILLEMS (PRESIDENT/CEO): $923,754 total reported compensation
  • GREG LOHRENTZ (SR VP OPERATIONS AND FINANCE): $562,502 total reported compensation
  • PAUL CHAI (VP FOR INVESTMENTS/CIO): $457,308 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 Kansas State University Foundation serves as the official fundraising and gift-receiving organization for Kansas State University, supporting the university's mission through philanthropy.

What it reported doing in 2024

Kansas state university administrative support for central administration, colleges and athletics. Expenditures include monies transferred and or expended for salaries for faculty and staff, travel for conferences, seminars, speakers, visiting professors, employee recruitment, professional and consulting services, equipment and computing purchases. Additionally, monies are transferred to athletics for use in support of academic services, sports medicine, equipment and computer purchases, travel costs as well as capital improvements.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 79% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 68% 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 85
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 61.7%; rating input score 62
  • Program expense ratio: 73.9%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.44 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 6 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • 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; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: 24.7%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.63; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.5%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 26 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 61.7% of revenue deployed · 73.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $130M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $924K · 29 people listed · 6 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $17M reported
  • Consistency: 44 of 45 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 28 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 28 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.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 43/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 47/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.