Lew Wentz Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
736091750
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Norman, OK, USA
Phone
4053251434
Rating
52
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$990,138
Expenses
$386,247
Assets
$33,209,713
Liabilities
$219

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • MATT HAMILTON (Chairman): $199,619 total reported compensation
  • COURTNEY HENDERSON (Secretary): $91,653 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The foundation provides loans to qualified students in order to pursue their education at the university of Oklahoma.

What it reported doing in 2023

The foundation provides loans to qualified students in order to pursue their education at the university of Oklahoma. During the year, $997,000 of new loans were awarded to a little over 400 students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 61% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
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

MIXED - 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 few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 30
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 72
  • Sustainability: 88
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 10.9%; rating input score 11
  • Program expense ratio: 71.2%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 61%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 85.98; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.3%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -41.7% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.7% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 10.9% of revenue deployed · 71.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $275K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $200K · 6 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $265K reported
  • Consistency: 16 of 16 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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: Mission deployment rate scored 11/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.